


Something Sensational

by Tiamo4ever



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bickering, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Lance (Voltron), Developing Friendships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), Heart-to-Heart, Homelessness, Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Fluff, Keith/Lance (Voltron)-centric, Klance keith tops lance bottoms, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Langst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Playful teasing, Protective Keith (Voltron), Romance, Romantic Fluff, Strangers to Friends, Top Keith (Voltron), Trust Issues, klance, police officer keith, street performer lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-01-23 13:18:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18550567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiamo4ever/pseuds/Tiamo4ever
Summary: Lance is a traveling street performer  who only earns money from the tricks he performs. It isn't an easy life to live, hard times are hard and with no real place to call home, it's also a lonely life to live. After a slight mistake on his part Lance meets Keith Kogane, a town police officer who has always had a bad habit of trying to take in 'strays'. Prepare to be enchanted as Keith and Lance learn to let each other in  and learn the true magic of love.





	1. Chapter 1

"Step right up ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. No need to be shy. It's not every day you get to witness magic and tricks expertly performed right before your very eyes." Lance said while juggling six different sized balls with one hand and twirling a blue ribbon with the other. Every now and then the ribbon would spin in between the balls without causing either action to fall out of sync. 

A decent-sized crowd had formed in front of the restaurant where Lance had chosen to perform.  It wasn't too surprising. Lance had a naturally charming personality and when the blue-eyed boy performed, his energy was almost magnetic in how it was able to draw in a crowd. The townsfolk just had to stop to see the energetic young lad who claimed to be able to perform the impossible.

Lance had been street performing for years and was now able to tell when the crowd's interest was at its peak. He decided it was time to up his game and perform one of his best tricks, in the hopes it would help encourage more generous tip amounts to be placed in the empty half of his open magic kit case. In reality, it was just an old, well-used navy blue suitcase that Lance had refused to part with, even though it had practically fallen apart a few times.

With his next trick in mind, Lance discarded the twirling ribbon and produced three more balls from what appeared to be thin air. He began juggling them with both hands in a rapid pace before launching all nine of them high into the air, managing to get them all about equal height. Lance then pulled what looked like two identical pistols from the back pockets of his jeans and fired nine shots. The crowd gasped in awe as the nine balls that had been making their descent back to earth, popped and disappeared once the shots were fired. In there, place glitter and rose petals appeared. Lance called this trick "sharing the magic" because the glitter and petals would land on the members of his audience as a reminder of what they saw and that magic comes in many forms. 

The crowd erupted with applause as the glitter and flower petals fell gently from above. Lance, being the over the top showman he was, took a bow and thanked the crowd for their kindness.

"Thank you. Thank you. You've been a fantastic audience and it was a pleasure to perform for you. I only hope the experience was just as pleasurable for all of you." Lance said with a wink which caused a few of the adults to chuckle. 

"Was I good enough to earn a demand for an encore performance?" Lance asked in a teasing fashion. Much to his delight, the crowd seemed eager for more, and Lance wasn't the type to pass up an opportunity to showboat. "Well then prepare to be enchanted folks and now for my next-"

"Hey, you brat!" An angry voice shouted causing Lance to stop mid-action. When he turned to where the shout had come from he saw the restaurant owner rush out the front door and head straight towards him. "I told you yesterday that you can't do your stupid tricks outside my restaurant." 

Some of the spectators began to leave and Lance realized he had run out of luck for the day. He knew from experience that there was only so long he could get away with causing such a commotion, but the part of him who loved performing had pushed him over that line. _'Why do I always have to be such a showoff?'_ Lance thought to himself before facing what little of the crowd still remained.

"Sorry folks looks like the show is over for today," Lance said with a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Damn right the show is over!" The restaurant owner shouted. "I don't need some brat disturbing the peace near my place of business. And now all this damn glitter is going to get tracked in all over my floors. Who do you think going to have to clean that shit up?"

Lance was about to retort with a snarky comeback, but the flashing red and blue lights in his peripheral vision were a definite sign that he should keep his mouth shut. _'Shit'_ Lance thought to himself as he slowly turned around. Two officers got out of the police vehicle. The one on the driver's side was tall and muscular in all the best ways. He had short hair that was black, except for his bangs which were such a soft white, that it reminded Lance of kitten fur.  The other officer was shorter but also had well-defined muscles. His hairstyle had Lance internally chuckling because he wasn't aware that the business in the front, party in the back look had come back into fashion. His eyes were an unusual shade of purple and his facial expression seemed to convey that he was ready for the day to be over even though it was only mid-morning. Had the situation been different, Lance would have wasted no time approaching him and using one of his best pick up lines to reel in a with date officer mullet man. 

"Bout damn time you got here Shirogane." Said the restaurant owner as the police officers approached.

"What seems to be the trouble today Sal?" The taller officer asked. 

"This brat," Sal said pointing at Lance, who at this point was standing there awkwardly, trying not to make any more trouble for himself than he already had. "This is the second day in a row that he's been causing a disturbance in front of my restaurant. Performing stupid magic tricks, making a ruckus, disturbing the peace; and today he's shooting guns-"

"Guns?" The taller officer said cutting off Sal and quickly turning towards Lance. Lance saw the other officer's eyes widen in surprise for a moment so brief that if Lance hadn't been paying such close attention to him, he probably wouldn't have even seen it. The look of surprise was quickly replaced by a questioning scowl as the officer's hand began to reach for his set of handcuffs.

"Woah Woah Woah. They aren't real guns!" Lance said while frantically waving his hands. "I would never endanger people just to put on a show. They're just noisemakers that I bought from a novelty store." 

"I'd like to see them just to make sure." Said the taller officer, who Lance now knew as officer Shirogane. Lance once again pulled the pistols out of his back pockets and handed them to officer Shirogane, who had his hands held out expectantly. Once the pistols were in the officer's possession it became very clear to them that Lance had been telling the truth. They were in fact just toy pistols, this much was clear from the fact that they had orange tips, the silver paint was chipped in several places and they weighed next to nothing. After inspecting them, officer Shirogane handed them back to Lance.

"I told you they weren't real," Lance said. He then pointed one of them at his hand and pulled the trigger twice. "See, they only make noise. They don't even actually shoot anything."

"If they aren't real then how the hell did you shoot those balls to make the glitter and petals fall all over the damn place?" Sal shouted.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." Lance said with a wink. His witty comeback didn't go over as well as Lance hoped and he quickly shut his mouth, making a mental note not to speak more than necessary.

"The gun issue may have been settled but there is still the issue of you performing outside Sal's restaurant. It's a town law that street performers must have a permit to perform in town, as well as the permission of any business owners in their chosen area of performance. It's clear that you didn't have permission to perform in front of Sal's restaurant, however, if I can see your permit then we will let you off with just a warning this time."

"Right...about that..." Lance said trailing off as he kept his eyes focused on the ground. The blue-eyed boy knew he was in trouble now. Lance was aware that he needed a permit to perform, however when he arrived in town he hadn't had enough money to afford the permit fee. Street performing was Lance's only source of income right now and had been for years. Lance didn't have a place to live and currently moved from town to town earning money from his tricks and magic act. He'd make enough every day to afford to pay for a motel room and food and if he couldn't then he'd just find a place to camp out overnight. Once Lance's novelty had worn off and the townsfolk weren't as willing to spare any change to tip him for his performance, Lance would hitchhike until he found somewhere new. The first thing Lance did upon arriving in this particular town was inquire about a performing permit. When he realized he couldn't afford the permit he hoped he could perform long enough without getting caught to earn the money payable to the fee.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you don't have a permit." The taller officer said.

"No, sir." Lance said still looking at the ground.

"Well, unfortunately, that means we're going to have to fine you." Officer Shirogane said as he pulled out his ticket book. "The fine is $75 and since this is the second time Sal has asked you not to perform here, that means you performed yesterday without a permit as well. You will need to pay the fine by the end of the day today. You can pay it at city hall. Sorry, it has to be this way but rules are rules after all. Try and stay out of trouble, alright." He said in a tone that sounded almost too sincere as he handed the ticket to Lance.

"Right. Sorry again." Lance said as he started to pack up his things. He started to sort and count the money he had made today and discovered that between that and the small amount he still had in his wallet, paying the fine was going to leave him with roughly three dollars. Lance sighed as he zipped up his suitcase before he slung the strap over his shoulder. The blue-eyed boy hadn't noticed that he was being watched until a voice spoke and caught him off guard.

"The park." The new voice said. When Lance turned he saw that the voice had come from the other officer, who had been unnaturally quiet during the whole previous encounter.

"Huh?" Lance said, mentally kicking himself for not saying something more smooth and charming.

"The park on the east side of town with the paddle boat pond, you can perform there without a permit. It's far enough away from town that it falls outside the permitted limit. You might not get a lot of foot traffic this time of year since the weather is getting a little cooler, but it's better than nothing." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. Lance wasn't sure why he was helping him, especially since Lance had literally just broken the law.

"Thanks for the tip." Lance said with a confused smile before heading off in the direction towards city hall to pay his ticket fine. He was oblivious to the fact that purple eyes were still watching him as he walked further down the road.

The purple-eyed officer finally turned around and made his way back to the police car. Just as he was about to open his door he saw that his partner was standing next to the car with a playful smirk on his lips.

"What?" He asked with an annoyed scowl before both of them got into the car.

"Just never thought I'd see the day when rough and tough Keith Kogane took an interest in someone, that's all."

"Oh shut up Shiro. It's not like that." Keith said.

"If you say so." Shiro said as he started the car. "So that's your type, huh?"

"Shut. Up."

"I'm curious, was it the fact that he's the law-breaking bad boy type? Or was it his bright blue eyes, long legs, and practically perfect ass?"

"Seriously! Ugh, I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." Keith said. "Just drive us back to the station. I have paperwork to finish."

XOXOXOXOXO

The rest of the day progressed relatively uneventful. Keith was able to get his paperwork done and since he had put in extra hours this week he decided to take off early. Keith was hoping to get out of the building before he ran into Shiro. The last thing he needed was to be teased about a certain blue-eyed boy again. Luck apparently wasn't on Keith's side today, however.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Shiro asked with a knowing smirk.

"Just heading home." Keith said with a sigh.

"I'm surprised you're leaving early. Usually, I have to force you to go home."

"What's your point?" Keith said trying not to get too annoyed.

"No point." Shiro said. Keith let out a small sigh of relief as he opened the door.

"Take an umbrella if you're going to the park, it looks like it might rain." Shiro said, annoying Keith enough to slam the door behind him.

_'Stupid Shiro.'_ Keith thought to himself as he climbed onto his motorcycle. _'I'm not interested in that guy. And so what if it was obvious that that was all the money he had? I'm not concerned. I'm not going to get involved.'_

XOXOXOXOXO

After paying the fine Lance had headed to the park the police officer mentioned. He had spent hours performing, alternating between juggling, ribbon twirling, and simple magic tricks. Unfortunately, with the shift in weather and the lack of foot traffic, Lance hadn't made very much money.  He was currently performing for a little girl who had become fascinated by his twirling ribbon. He might not be making any money but the little girl's smile and excited clapping were at least enough to lift Lance's spirit a little. Eventually, the little girl's mother called out to her, telling her to get away from Lance, scolding her about talking to strangers. She then told her they needed to get home. The little girl pouted, but before walking away from Lance she bent down and picked one of the dandelions out of the grass and handed it to Lance.

"Thanks, little lady. Now you better run along, you don't want your mommy to get any more upset." Lance said with a soft smile. The little girl then ran off leaving Lance all alone. Lance moved his stuff over to one of the picnic tables and sat down. 

"Flowers are nice, but they can't exactly be used to pay for a motel room tonight," Lance said out loud with a sigh as he picked up the dandelion and held it gently in his hand. Even though he had been performing all afternoon he had only managed to make about fifteen dollars. Lance let out another sigh. "Looks like it'll be another night under the stars."

XOXOXOXOXO

Keith was beyond frustrated with himself. He had parked his motorcycle near the entrance of the park about half an hour ago and was now leaning against it with his arms crossed. He knew he had two options. The first one being the smarter option of getting back on his bike and going home or the second option of walking into the park and getting involved with the street performer he and Shiro had fined earlier that day.

_'I shouldn't get involved.'_ Keith thought to himself. After another ten minutes, Keith let out a frustrated sigh and walked down the path and into the park. _'I hope I'm not going to regret this.'_

Keith kept walking until he caught sight of the familiar blue-eyed boy. Keith kept his distance and watch as the street performer did tricks with a ribbon for the little girl who was watching excitedly. He watched as the girl handed Lance a weed she had picked before running off. Keith was close enough to Lance that he could overhear the other boy talking to himself. Keith had a feeling this guy didn't have a place to go and his suspicions were confirmed by the boy's comments. _'Walk away Kogane. You really shouldn't get involved.'_ Keith thought to himself. Despite his rational thought process, Keith found himself walking towards the other boy. His impulsiveness had gotten him into trouble in the past and Keith silently prayed that this time would be different.

"Did I miss the show?" Keith asked as he neared the picnic table where the other boy had been sitting.  He watched as the boy's blue eyes widened with recognition as Keith spoke.

"Yeah. The show's over for today. But since you were kind enough to help me out earlier, I could always give you a private show." The boy said playfully with a wink, surprising Keith slightly for a moment. Keith figured two could play at that game.

"You do know that soliciting yourself is illegal, right?" Keith said with a smirk.

"Guess you'll have to cuff me then, won't you officer?" Lance teased as he held both his wrists out.

"It would be the second law you've broken today. One more and I just might." Keith teased right back.

"I like a guy who can dish it right back at me. The name's Lance." Lance said as he held his hand out for a handshake.

"Keith."


	2. Chapter 2

 "So, Keith. Telling me I could perform in the park without a permit wasn't a way to set me up, was it? Because if you're here to bust me, I really can't afford to pay another fine and I'm sure you'll agree that I'm way too pretty for prison." Lance said teasingly causing Keith to roll his eyes.

"Do you really think I'd go out of my way to give myself extra work?" Keith asked. "I just thought a walk in the park would be a good way to clear my head after a long day." Lance didn't need to know that he had been on Keith's mind since this morning. He also didn't need to know how long Keith mentally argued with himself on whether he should get involved or not.  

"Aww, and here I was hoping you made a special trip just to see me again," Lance said with a playful pout. Part of him really was just teasing Keith but part of him was also really glad to see the officer again and hoped the feeling was mutual. After all, Keith was the one to tell him to go to the park and then said boy just happened to show up. Was it really too much to hope that it wasn't just a coincidence?

"You'd have to _be special_ for it to be a _special trip_." Keith said with a smirk. Now it was Lance's turn to roll his eyes.

"I'll have you know that I am plenty special, mullet boy. In fact, I'm downright sensational." Lance said as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms. _'Damn this guy doesn't miss a beat does he? I'm going to have to keep my shots sharp with this one.'_ Lance thought to himself.

"Mullet boy?"

"Uh yeah. Have you seen your haircut because the 80s called and they want it back." 

"Yeah well, the only thing sensational about you is the fact that that word is even in your vocabulary." 

The two boys glared at each other for about a minute before breaking down and laughing. It had been a long time since Lance had had someone to bicker and banter back and forth with. It also wasn't often that someone reciprocated his flirtatiousness nor took the bait when he teased them. For Keith, this was one of the dumbest conversations he had ever had. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd laughed like this. After the laughter died down Keith had an idea. 

"I was going to get dinner after my walk, do you want to come with me?" Keith asked. Since he had already gotten involved he might as well see how far he could get, even though he knew how high the possibility was that this could end badly.  He watched Lance hesitate to respond. Keith knew why, but he also knew this was a fine line to walk. If he became to pushy Lance's pride would be hurt, but if he wasn't pushy enough then Lance would be hungry and have no place to go tonight. Subtlety had never been Keith's forte so he would have to be careful. 

"My friend owns a café in town. He makes these garlic puff things that are really good, well actually everything he makes is pretty amazing." Keith said. Lance was silent for a minute before his lips quirked into another playful smile.

"Do you ask all lawbreakers on dates, or am I just lucky?"

"A simple yes or no would suffice," Keith said sighing again. How could someone manage to be so intriguing and so irritating at the same time?

"But what fun would that be?" 

"Do you want to come to dinner with me or not?" 

"I'd love too, Nino bonito." Lance said with a wink. Keith knew Lance had added the Spanish phrase just to tease him again

"What does that mean?" 

"That's for me to know and you to find out." 

"Am I ever going to get a direct or serious answer from you?"

"We'll see."

XOXOXOXO

It had taken a bit of convincing to get Lance on the back of Keith's motorcycle. Although it wasn't so much 'convincing' as it was teasing and challenging. The conversation started out rational on Keith's part and hesitant on Lance's part, but once Keith started to lose his patients he resorted to childish taunts about Lance being a fraidy cat. Lance, of course, jumped right on after that and demanded Keith to just drive already. Pointless arguments aside, it took no time at all to get to the café. Keith parked the bike and hopped off. He then turned to offer Lance a hand to help him off as well. Lance's legs were a tad shaky from the ride so when Keith took his hand and helped him off, Lance lost his footing and fell against Keith's chest, surprising both boys.

"That was graceful," Keith said with a slight chuckle and smirk.

"Oh shut up." Lance said as he pushed himself away from Keith to stand on his own. "It's the first time I've ever been on a motorcycle. Sue me for being a little apprehensive and shaky."

"A little apprehensive? You whined like a five-year-old about having to ride it and you had your arms wrapped so tightly around my waist that I almost couldn't breathe." 

"Whatever. Are we getting food or not?" Lance said trying to change the subject and hoping that Keith wouldn't notice his slight blush.

"What? Are you out of witty retorts already?" 

"Kiss my ass mullet boy."

"Wow. Real creative." Keith said. The two of them bickered back and forth as they walked into the café. The only thing that put an end to it was the fact that they were interrupted by a voice that had called out to Keith.

"Keith. Hey buddy, what's up?"

"Hey, Hunk. Just thought I'd eat here tonight. Long day at work and wasn't in the mood to cook, ya know?" Keith said as he took a seat at his usual table. Lance followed Keith's lead and sat in the other empty chair while he watched the other two chat.

"Can't say that I relate. I cook all day every day and never get sick of it." Hunk said. He then caught sight of Lance and his eyes widened dramatically. Lance was confused by the look he was getting but before he had a chance to say anything, Hunk spoke again. "Keith. Are you aware that there is someone else sitting at your table with you?"

"Yeah," Keith said sounding just as confused as Lance felt. "This is Lance. Lance this is Hunk."

"Nice to meet you." Lance said.

:"Nice to meet you too." Hunk said. "Oh...Oh is this like a date? Are you dating? How come you never mentioned him? Is this like the time-"

"Hunk stop. You're rambling again." Keith said. "And it's not a date."

"Aww but strudel doodle you came to pick me up and let me snuggle so close to you on your motorcycle. How can you say this isn't a date?" Lance said dramatically with the pout to match. He just had to get Keith back for making fun of him about the motorcycle situation and if the look on Hunk's face was anything to go by then his revenge was certainly very sweet.

"Lance." Keith said in a warning tone.

"Yes, love of my life?" Lance asked cutely while blatantly ignoring Keith's frustration. Keith rested his elbow on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself down.

"Wait, I'm confused. Is this a date? Or what is this?" Hunk asked.

"It's not a date. I just met Lance today, we talked for a bit and I asked if he wanted to come to get food with me. That's all." Keith said. Hunk looked at Lance for confirmation and since the blue-eyed boy had had his fun, he decided to stop teasing Keith...for now.

"Yeah, that's all," Lance said. "And I was told you make really good garlic puffs."

"Garlic puffs? Oh is that what Keith called them? Keith, I've told you before they are called garlic knots, not puffs. Those are two completely different things." Hunk said sounding mildly offended.

"Garlic knots!" Lance said excitedly. "Those are only like my favorite food on earth. My grandmother and mother would make them all the time. Keith, how the hell could you confuse them for puffs?"

"I like your new friend Keith. He is clearly a man of culture." Hunk said.

"Aww. Thanks buddy." Lance said giving Hunk a high five. Keith just rolled his eyes. He really didn't understand why it was such an important distinction. Hunk then walked away to get the boys their food. Keith always got the same thing and it was crystal clear that Lance wanted garlic knots. Once Hunk was out of earshot, Keith spoke up again.

"Strudel doodle? Really?" Keith said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you have preferred 'love muffin'?" Lance asked in a completely serious tone.

"God, you are so...so..."

"Delightful? Charming? Irresistible?"

"Annoying."

"Oh don't be like that Nino bonito, you know you love it." Lance said with a wink.

"Seriously what does that mean?"

"What does what mean?" Hunk asked as he set the plates of food on the table.

"Nothing. Thanks, Hunk. So how has Pidge been doing? She still working too much?" Keith said to take the focus off his and Lance's conversation.

"Yeah. She doesn't stop unless I force her to and even then it's usually not for very long." Hunk said. "I'm hoping tonight I can bribe her away from her work with freshly baked peanut butter cookies. She really needs to relax a little."

"I might not know this Pidge girl, but if your cookies are half as good as these garlic knots that won't be a problem," Lance said. "Seriously dude, they are amazing!"

"Thanks, man." Hunk said. Hunk left to go back to the kitchen leaving Keith and Lance alone again to eat their food. The boys chatted, bickered and teased each other all throughout eating. Hunk came back to clear their plates once they were finished.

"Seriously good food dude. How much do I owe you?" Lance asked Hunk.

"Oh don't worry about it. I never charge Keith when he comes in. And this is like literally the first time I've ever seen Keith willingly eat or spend time with someone he hasn't known for years. I don't know what kind of voodoo magic spell you cast on Keith but it is more than worth the price of dinner." Hunk said.

"Well, I guess sacrificing that goat turned out to be beneficial after all." Lance said jokingly. His humor didn't seem to register with Hunk, who looked a little terrified. "It was a joke dude."

"Oh right." Hunk said with a sigh of relief. "It was good seeing you again Keith. You and Lance should stop by again sometime."

"We'll see if I can tolerate him long enough for that to happen." Keith said smirking at Lance.

"More like we'll see if I want to go on another date with a guy who took me to a place where he gets free food." Lance retorted. 

"It wasn't a date."

"It's funny. If you hadn't told me you guys just met today, I would have thought you two had known each other for years." Hunk said as he walked away with the empty plates.  Lance and Keith both sat in silence for a minute. They were equally too shocked to speak.  Keith had never been much of a people person. He had a few close friends but that was it, he usually kept to himself. Lance never really stayed in one place long enough to make lasting friendships or relationships. The blue-eyed boy honestly hadn't allowed himself to become close to anyone in a long time. 

"It's um, getting late." Lance said breaking the silence.

"Right." Keith said as he stood up. Both boys then left the café together and once they got outside they both stood awkwardly by Keith's bike.

"Guess this is where we part ways. I've probably caused you enough trouble for one day." Lance said as he rubbed the back of his neck, before taking a few steps away from Keith's bike.

"Hey..." Keith said halting Lance's movements. "If you need a place to stay tonight you can crash on my couch."

"What...?" Lance asked really hoping this conversation wasn't going where he thought it was going. The last thing Lance wanted was someone's pity.

"My place isn't all that special but it's better than a motel or...well anyway it wouldn't cost you any money." Keith said. After his awkward sentence came out of his mouth he realized he should have tried to word it better. He had clearly fucked up if the dramatic change in Lance's posture was any indication.

"...So...Is that what this whole day has been about? This morning you told me where I could perform without a permit because you knew I was strapped for cash and then you take me to a café where you get _free_ food. God, I am so stupid. I thought we were really hitting it off but you just feel sorry for me." Lance said sounding hurt.

"What? No that's-"

"Save it. I don't want or need any more of your handouts. I'm not a charity case. If you feel the need to do a good deed then go rescue a kitten from a tree." Lance snapped as he started to walk away. 

"Lance that's not what this is." Keith snapped back as he followed Lance. "And by the way that's a firefighter stereotype. I'm a cop."

"Oh yeah, well you're such a busy body that you'd probably but in and do it for them." Lance yelled. Lance didn't spare Keith a second glance before running down the road back towards the park. Keith let out a frustrated sound before getting on his bike and heading home. The only sounds that filled Keith's ears were the sound of his engine and the distant rumble of thunder in the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nino bonito = Pretty boy in Spanish (I read another fic where Lance called Keith that and thought it was super cute so I had to use it!)  
> Hope you guys are liking this story so far. I have the next few chapters planned out so hopefully I can update pretty regularly (for a while anyway lol).  
> Also I just had to add some lowkey Hunk x Pidge!! They are my other OTP from the VLD fandom.  
> And I use female pronouns for Pidge (I support everyone's opinion on Pidge's gender. And you are all valid in those opinions. I just personally use female pronouns for her.)
> 
> Anyway....Hope to update again soon. Comments and Kudos are appreciated. <3 <3 <3


	3. Chapter 3

Keith was pissed, that much was evident by the way the tires of his bike screeched as he skidded to a stop when he got to his apartment building. The rain that had been teasing the sky with its dark storm clouds had finally begun to fall and the wet drip drops only angered Keith more when he felt them land on his face and start to dampen his hair. He stomped up the three flights of stairs to his third-floor apartment because having to wait for the elevator was not within Keith's mental capabilities right now. The faster he got to his apartment the better. 

After slamming his door closed behind him, Keith kicked off his boots and then moved towards his couch. He flung himself down on said piece of furniture and covered his eyes with his arm as he let out a loud frustrated sigh. _'Why did I have to get involved with that stupid, stubborn, annoying...Ugh!'_ Keith thought to himself. A loud rumble of thunder shook Keith from these thoughts and he realized that the rain, which a few minutes ago was just a light drizzle, was now falling so steadily that it would likely cause anyone caught in it to become drenched in a matter of minutes. Keith sighed again as he got up from the couch and walked over to the window, pushing the curtain open so he could watch the rainfall. 

_'No...No I'm not going to feel guilty, I offered to let him stay here. He's an adult if he wants to sleep out in the rain all night that's his choice.'_ Keith thought as he walked away from the window. Although he was still too frustrated to do anything except pace back and forth in his living room. As hard as he tried not to, all he could think about was Lance out in the rain.

Keith hadn't gotten too good a look at what else was in the boy's suitcase except for the little bit of money the townspeople had given him, and the props he used for his act. Keith wasn't sure how much clothing Lance had with him or if he even had anything at all that he could change into. Keith let out yet another frustrated sigh. Why was he so concerned? Lance had clearly been living like this for a while so the blue-eyed boy was probably used to situations like this, right?

_'That doesn't mean he should be or is ok with it.'_ Keith thought. _'I should...no. He doesn't want my help. Just stop thinking about him. I can't do anything else about it anyway. It's not like he's a stray dog or cat that needs to be taken care of. He's a person, an adult for crying out loud. I shouldn't even be worrying about him.'_  

Another rumble of thunder made Keith wince and stop pacing. He glanced back at the window for a minute longer before his body started to move on its own as he went to the coat closet to grab a rain jacket. Next thing Keith knew, he was out the door and back on his bike heading back to the park in search of the blue-eyed boy, who had managed to get under Keith's skin just enough to make his impulsive nature take over.

XOXOXOXOXO

Lance took off running after he snapped at Keith. He was upset at the thought of Keith pitying him but he was more upset at the fact that he had dared to hope Keith actually liked talking to him in the first place. Lance was used to being pitied, after all, he was technically homeless. It was typical of people Lance had met to offer him handouts but Lance had to much pride to ever accept them. He had chosen this life and he was determined to make it on his own. It might be hard at times but Lance loved performing more than anything and wasn't willing to give that up. 

What Lance wasn't used to was getting attached to people or getting his hopes up. Living this lifestyle Lance had developed very reasonable expectations to keep disappointment to a minimum. So he never got his hopes too high for anything. As for getting close to people, well, Lance had stopped doing that years ago. Getting close got you hurt, so Lance kept his distance. He moved on to new places before he got too close to anyone or started to feel too at home. The security of stability frightened Lance and always set him on edge. He needed freedom, he needed adventure, he needed unpredictability. Which is why he was so upset with himself right now.

Talking to Keith had been the most fun Lance had had when he wasn't performing for a crowd. Lance could see himself getting close to Keith, whether it be as good friends or something more. The blue-eyed boy had started to hope that Keith felt the same way. When Keith's friend Hunk said that Keith didn't spend time with just anyone, Lance had let himself feel hopeful that he was some sort of special exception. But now he realized that he was wrong. Keith was just like those other good deed doers, he felt bad for Lance and wanted to 'help'. Lance wasn't special...he was just another task that officer mullet man felt he had to take care of.

When Lance finally made it back to the park he was out of breath. He briefly glanced behind him to see if Keith had followed him, but mullet boy was nowhere to be seen. Lance once again felt the sting of disappointment as his earlier thoughts seemed to be confirmed. He began the slow walk down the park path in search of a place to camp out for the night. Lance cursed under his breath when he felt the soft raindrops that had started to fall from the sky. Of course, he'd have to be short on cash on a rainy night. If he hadn't had to show off earlier, he wouldn't have gotten caught and he wouldn't have had to spend his money paying the fine. He could be in a warm motel room watching the rain from the window and letting the thunder lull him to sleep. 

But...then he also wouldn't have met Keith.

Lance quickly shook that thought from his head. It had started to rain harder and he knew he needed to find somewhere where he could at least attempt to stay dry. Lance ran down the path until he saw a large oak tree that looked like it had enough branches to at least partially shield him from the rain. He knew logically that being under a tree during a thunderstorm wasn't the smartest idea, but he was desperate and his clothes were already soaked completely through. Lance sat down on the ground under the tree, which did help shield him from the rain but only just barely. 

Before coming to this town Lance had stopped at a pawn shop to sell off some of his things, including his umbrella. He had needed the money and already had too much to carry with him on his hitchhiking trip. Right now he was really regretting that decision. Lance pulled his knees to his chest in an attempt to keep warm, not that it was doing much good. He let his head rest against the tree trunk and allowed his eyes to shut even though he knew he wouldn't be sleeping tonight. He wasn't sure how long he stayed that way but soon the sound of footsteps heading in his direction reached his ears. Lance opened his eyes and was slightly shocked to see Keith walking up to him. The hurt feelings from earlier were still present, so Lance wasn't willing to let Keith see the very small amount of hope in his eyes.

"What brings you here, _officer?_ " Lance asked practically spitting out the last word. He watched Keith roll his eyes before he spoke up.

"Rescuing a kitten from a tree." Keith said mimicking Lance's earlier remark while gesturing to the tree.

"I told you before, I don't need your help. I've been doing just fine on my own without help from you or anyone else for years." Lance said which caused Keith to scoff.

"Clearly," Keith said sarcastically. "In the one day I've known you, you've gotten fined and now you're planning to spend all night out in the rain even though you are already completely soaked. You're doing a really top-notch job taking care of yourself."

"Shut up. Don't stand there and act like your life is always so perfect or that you've never been down on your luck, Mr. I've got a job and a place to live. I've been through way worse than this and I have never asked for help. So back off!" Lance snapped.

"Will you stop being a stubborn jackass! You aren't asking, I'm offering." Keith snapped back. "Now you have two options. You can come back to my place, take a hot shower and have a warm and dry place to stay for the night. Or we can both sit under this tree all night because I'm not leaving you out here. Two can play the stubborn game Lance and I'm fucking competitive so I won't back down just because you snap at me." 

Lance was shocked at Keith's words. No one had ever gone this far for him before. Would Keith really stay under the tree all night if Lance didn't move? Lance could be stubborn and competitive too but he wasn't sure he was willing to make Keith put his money where his mouth was. The wind was starting to pick up and the temperature had started to drop. A hot shower sounded like heaven and if that meant putting his pride aside and accepting help from the ungodly stubborn police officer in front of him, then Lance would make that sacrifice. 

"Alright. You win." Lance said as he stood up 

"Good. Let's go." 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note. Lance and Keith are in their early 20's in this story.  
> Hope you guys are enjoying this story so far <3

Keith unlocked the door to his apartment and he and Lance went inside. After taking off his boots and hanging his rain jacket on the coat rack near the door, Keith disappeared down the main hallway and into the bathroom to grab a towel for Lance. When he came back he saw that Lance had set down his suitcase and taken off his shoes. He was now standing awkwardly next to the door as a puddle began to form on the floor underneath him due to how wet his clothes had gotten. He was shaking and Keith wasn't sure if it was just because Lance was cold of if it was also because he was nervous. Keith quickly walked back to Lance and handed him the towel so that he could attempt to dry off. 

"Um, the bathroom is this way." Keith said as he motioned for Lance to follow him. The fun flirty energy from earlier was now replaced with almost uncomfortably awkward tension. Keith hardly ever had house guests so this was a new experience for him and it didn't help that Lance seemed too nervous to touch or ask for anything. The blue-eyed boy hadn't even made eye contact with Keith since agreeing to got home with him. When they got to the bathroom Keith flipped on the light and pulled the shower curtain aside.

"All you have to do is turn this handle to the right to turn the water on and adjust the temperature. You can just leave your wet clothes outside the door and I'll take them to the laundry room and toss them in the dryer. I'll lend you some of my clothes to change into, they should fit ok since we're roughly the same size. I'll just leave them outside the door. If you finish your shower before I come back up from the laundry room then just make yourself comfortable. There's a blanket on the back of the couch if the shower doesn't warm you up enough." Keith said before turning to leave the bathroom.

"Keith..." Lance said causing Keith to stop and turn back to look at him. "...thank you."

Two words. 

That's all Lance had said and yet so much more was conveyed to Keith than just thanks. Lance had said those two words with such care and vulnerability that it went straight to Keith's heart. He wasn't just thanking Keith for letting him use his shower and stay the night. He was thanking Keith for caring about him. He was thanking Keith for coming back for him. He was thanking Keith for being stubborn enough not to walk away. He was thanking Keith for everything he had done for him. He was thanking Keith for just being Keith. 

Two words that were able to say so much. Keith would have needed hundreds of words to communicate all of that, yet Lance had done it with only two. Two words that now had Keith at a loss for what to say next. His social skills had always been abysmal and had it not been for the fact that he noticed that Lance was still shaking, they might have stood in silence for much longer.

"You...you should shower to warm yourself up soon. If you stay in those wet clothes too much longer you could get sick." Keith said. Lance nodded his head and turned toward the shower to start the hot water. Keith took that as his cue to leave. After closing the door behind him he went back to his bedroom to get a pair of sweatpants, a sweater, socks, and underwear for Lance to change into. When he came back out into the hallway he noticed that Lance's wet clothes were sitting on the towel from earlier, on the floor outside of the bathroom. It was clear that Lance hadn't wanted to get any more water on the floor than he already had. Keith set the dry change of clothes down and scooped up the wet ones before making his way to the downstairs laundry room. 

After tossing the cloths into the dryer Keith leaned against the wall. He couldn't get the way Lance looked in the bathroom out of his head. The blue-eyed boy had looked so vulnerable, anxious and shy. It was a drastic change from the boy he had spent most of the evening with. Gone was the flirtatious, showboating, annoying troublemaker. Gone was the teasing, the bickering, and the quick wit. Keith wasn't sure why the personality shift bothered him as much as it did. He had only known Lance for less than a day and yet seeing him so shy and vulnerable had Keith unsettled. He wanted to rewind back to before this whole mess, back to the Lance that had brought out a side of Keith he didn't even know he had. Rewind back to the teasing and banter. Hell, he'd even let Lance call him strudel doodle again if it would put that smug smile back on his face.  

The dryer buzzed causing Keith's train of thought to derail. After checking to make sure the clothes were completely dry, Keith took them out of the dryer and folded them before heading back upstairs. When he opened his door he saw Lance sitting in the armchair next to the window with the blanket Keith mentioned, wrapped around him. He had been watching the rainfall until he heard the door open. Then he turned towards Keith and watched him set his clothes on the edge of the coffee table before taking a seat on the couch.

"Did my clothes fit you ok?" Keith asked.

"Hmm, yeah. The sweatpants are a little short though since my legs are a little longer than yours." Lance said as he moved the blanket enough to expose his legs to show Keith where the pant legs came down too. 

"Well, on the plus side you're all prepared in case it floods." Keith teased hoping to lighten the mood. A small smile found its way to Lance's lips.

"It better not flood, I've had more than enough water for one day." Lance said with a slight chuckle. He still had a shy vulnerability to him but Keith felt this was a step in the right direction. 

"I'm going to make a cup of tea, do you want some? It would probably be a good idea for you to drink something warm." Keith said as he stood up and started to walk towards the kitchen. Lance got up and followed him, though Keith wasn't sure why. The kitchen and living room were close enough together that they could have kept talking had Lance stayed sitting in the armchair. 

Keith put the kettle on to boil and pulled the few boxes of tea he had out of the cabinet and set them on the counter next to Lance. "What flavor do you want?"

"Actually..." Lance said trailing off as he glanced at the fruit bowl on Keith's kitchen counter. "I'd just like some hot water with some lemon in it if that's ok."

"Um sure." Keith said. Keith was a little confused. Did Lance think taking a tea bag from Keith would be taking too much? But that couldn't be right because Lance had said he wanted lemon. Did he think the tea was more expensive than the lemon? Granted Keith had bought the tea himself and the fruit bowl had been something Shiro brought over last time he visited Keith, but Lance had no way of knowing that. Keith still pondered that thought as he got a cutting board and knife out. He passed them to Lance, along with the lemon so that he could cut whatever size chuck he wanted. When the water was boiled Keith grabbed two mugs and the honey out of the kitchen cabinet. He filled the mugs and passed one of them to Lance who then squeezed the lemon into the warm water before dropping it lemon chunk into the cup as well. Keith made his tea, adding a spoon full of honey to it before letting it sit and steep.

"...could I..." Lance said pointing to the honey. Keith passed it to him along with a spoon.

"You sure you don't want tea, it's really no trouble." Keith said hoping it didn't sound as pushy or as awkward as it felt.

"No, this is perfect." Lance said with a soft smile before taking a sip. "I was up north a few years ago during winter and was kinda stuck in this small town out in the middle of nowhere. I say stuck because when you street preform it's harder to get a crowd when the weather is cold or when there's snow on the ground, so money was hard to come by. There was this coffee shop called _Safe &Warm_ that had a stage set up for open mic nights on Thursdays. I asked the owner if she would be ok with me doing my act on the stage during the day. She didn't mind but she said she couldn't afford to pay me. She said that I was welcome to set out a tip jar and as long as I didn't hound the customers for money, then I could perform. Anyway, I was trying to make enough to afford a bus ticket to go somewhere warm so I had to be really careful with money. Tap water and hot water was free, so I used to get a cup of hot water and then flirt with and sweet talk this girl named Plaxum into sneaking me lemon wedges and the occasional honey packet. Now, whenever I want something hot to drink this is what I get, mostly just for the nostalgia factor."

"Sounds like you miss this girl." Keith said.

"Aww is someone jealous?" Lance teased.

"In your dreams," Keith said rolling his eyes. He wasn't annoyed though, in fact, he was glad to see Lance relaxing enough to tease him again. "How long ago was this?"

"Hmm...Two or three years I think." Lance said before taking another sip. 

"How long have you been...street...preforming," Keith asked. As soon as the words left his mouth he wished he could have taken them back. It was obvious that Keith wasn't asking about the preforming, he was asking about Lance's living situation.

"You can say homeless Keith. It's ok." Lance said in an amused tone. His reaction wasn't what Keith had expected. "To answer your question I've been street performing since I was 14. But I wasn't _actually_ homeless until I was 16."

"What do you mean by _actually_?" Keith asked.

"It's a long story." Lance said.

"You got somewhere to be?" Keith said sarcastically to let Lance know he asked because he wanted to know. Lance pointed towards the living room and the two of them went and sat on the couch.

XOXOXOXOXO

Lance took a few deep breaths before he said anything. He had never told his story to anyone because first of all nobody had ever asked and second of all even if they had Lance wouldn't have wanted to burden them with his troubles. There was something different about Keith though. Lance couldn't put his finger on it but there was something in his heart that was telling him that he could trust Keith. It scared Lance that he could feel this way about someone he had only just met less than twelve hours ago. Yet Keith had already done more for Lance than anyone else ever had, not just in the material physical sense, but also on a deeper level. Lance had no idea how this would play out when morning came and the days went on, but right here, at this moment he wanted someone to trust; and that someone was Keith.

"I've always loved to perform, ever since back before I can remember. My family moved to America from Cuba when I was about two. I'm the youngest of five children. I have two older sisters; Veronica and Rachel and two older brothers; Luis and Marco. I was forever trying to be the center of attention, always preforming or doing silly things to make them laugh. I would perform for the people in our neighborhood, during school talent shows, on the boardwalk by the beach. When I was 10 a traveling circus came to town. My parents took my siblings and I...and let me tell you it changed my life. I wanted to do that, be just like those performers. On the way home I told my parents that I wanted to join the circus. They laughed and brushed it off saying that it was cute how children dream to run away and join the circus. I didn't understand at the time all I knew was that I wanted to do that. So I learned magic, taught myself circus tricks, I was determined that that was what I was going to do. When I was 14 my father said enough was enough. I needed to get my head out of the clouds and live in reality. ' _No son of mine will be a glorified clown'_. My mother agreed, saying I was good at so many other things and how I should start taking life more seriously like my older sibling. I knew they would never support me or my dream so I 'ran away to join the circus'. Except there was no circus for me to join at the time so I started street performing. Being on the streets at 14 is a life no kid should live but I didn't want to go back home. I was too stubborn for my own good. Still am sometimes, as you've seen. Anyway, I ended up learning the hard way that making money this way wouldn't be easy. Then I met them; Rolo and Nyma. Rolo who was charming, smooth, good looking and Nyma was beautiful but had a deadly personality. The kind of girl who would sweet talk you right up until the moment she got what she wanted. They were older than me by several years, but they stopped by one day to watch my act. When I was done they said I had potential. I didn't know what they meant but they offered me a place to stay so I went with them. Turns out that they were con artists and thieves. They showed me how my sleight of hand skills could be used to pick people's pockets. I know it was wrong and it makes me sick every time I think about all the people I helped them rip off...all the people I stole from. They were good at what they did and twisted their words to make me think what we were doing was ok. I stayed with them till I was 16, that's when they double-crossed me. We got caught trying to rip off some upper-class people who were attending an art gallery opening. They let me take the fall. They were dressed like high society socialites and easily managed to convince the cops that I was trying to steal from them and the others. Since I was still a minor the cops brought me back to my parents. They didn't welcome me back with open arms though. In fact, after the cops left my father told me to get out. So I was on my own again for real and for good. But no matter how bad things got or how desperate I was I never stole from anyone ever again and if I met someone along the way who was also struggling I'd give them what I had and I'd go without. I remember after all this happened and I had been low on luck and hope for months, I was sitting on a bench somewhere and these two elementary school kids were walking down the sidewalk past me. This little boy shouted _'look what I can do'_ before doing a cartwheel. He reminded me so much of myself at that age and I remembered that I loved performing more than anything. So I poured my heart and soul into it. I performed wherever I could, whenever I could, for as long as I could. I might not have a place to call home but I've got something that I look forward too everyday. It's not easy and I must sound like a total lunatic to you for willingly putting myself in this situation, but I won't give it up, and I won't stop dancin' till the curtains fall."

Lance let out a shaky breath as he finished talking. He hadn't realized that he had stopped looking at Keith until he felt Keith's hand gently lift his chin so that they could make eye contact again. Lance also hadn't realized he was crying until he felt Keith's thumb brush away his tears. This was a whole new feeling for Lance. After Rolo and Nyma, Lance had trouble trusting anyone. He hadn't opened up to anyone, let himself be vulnerable with anyone, cried in front of anyone. How had Keith unlocked this part of Lance when he knew for certain that he had thrown away that key years ago.

"Sorry," Lance said as he leaned away from Keith and wiped the rest of his own tears away. "I haven't...haven't talked about this in...with anyone before. Guess the wounds weren't as healed as I thought they were."

"Don't apologize," Keith said. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No, I'm glad you did. I didn't know I needed to talk about it until I started talking about it, ya know?" Lance said. Keith nodded his head and the two sat in silence for a minute.

"It's gotten really late. We should get some sleep." Keith said as he took the empty mugs to the kitchen and set them in the sink. He went down the hall to his room to grab a pillow and extra blanket for Lance. "Sorry, the couch is old and kind of lumpy." He said as he gave Lance the pillow and blanket.

"It's fine Keith. I've slept in far more uncomfortable places." Lance teased.

"Right..." Keith said. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight Keith."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it might seem super fast how much Lance and Keith care about each other...but...I kinda based it off of my relationship with a very dear friend of mine. When we met it was an instant connection and after spending time with them a few time it was like we had known each other forever and just clicked in a way I've never connected with anyone before.  
> I guess my point is that How long you know someone doesn't effect the depth of your feelings for them. It's the strength of your connection with them. SO...if this seems kind of fast it's because it's based on a faced passed connection in my personal life <3


	5. Chapter 5

Lance woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the warmth of what at first, he thought was the sunlight. Before opening his eyes he furrowed his brows in confusion. Why did he feel so warm, soft and cozy? It wasn't how he should have felt after sleeping in the rain all night. He opened his eyes slowly to take in his surroundings and that's when he noticed he was on someone's couch and wearing clothes that were most certainly not his. Lance sat up quickly, startled to find himself in this situation. Then the realization dawned on him that this was Keith's place. The foggy state of his mind after just waking up, soon cleared and then he began to replay the memories of what happened last night. 

Lance pulled his knees to his chest as he recalled the stubborn and determined look on Keith's face when he was trying to convince him to come out from under the tree. He remembered how awkward he felt invading Keith's apartment, even though the other boy had practically dragged him there. He remembered opening the bathroom door after his shower to pick up the clothes Keith had left for him. He remembered how badly he had wanted to make a joke or tease Keith about getting to wear his underwear, and how he held back because he still felt so out of place in Keith's space. He remembered the way he had opened up to Keith about his past. Lance felt a light dusting of blush across his cheeks as he remembered how gentle Keith's calloused fingers were as they carefully brushed away his tears.

Lance let out a small whine as he flopped back down on the couch and covered his now red face with both of his hands. He didn't understand how such a small thing could make him feel this way. It wasn't like Lance hadn't interacted with attractive people before, and he was far from inexperienced when it came to the more intimate side of those interactions. Lance had been around the block, all they way down the street and even to the more risqué parts of town...and yet; Lance could honestly say that having Keith brush away his tears was the most intimate thing he had ever experienced.

' _This is bad.'_ Lance thought to himself. ' _I'm starting to get attached. I know better than anyone how this ends. I need to draw the line...or...we'll both end up getting hurt.'_  Lance didn't want to be the reason anyone was hurt; but for some reason, just the thought of being the one to hurt Keith made Lance sick to his stomach. He also knew deep down that if Keith was the one to hurt him, it would probably cut so deep that the recovery time would be insurmountable. 

Lance sighed and decided to set those thoughts aside. He wouldn't deal with the 'what ifs' right now. There were nicer things to be thinking about, like breakfast for example. Lance hadn't heard a sound from Keith's room so he assumed the other boy was still asleep. He smiled to himself as he got off the couch and went into the kitchen. Since Keith obviously lived alone, Lance figured that he hadn't had anyone cook him breakfast in a while. What better way to show Keith he appreciated everything he had done for him, than with a nice homemade breakfast. 

Lance wasn't sure how Keith would feel about him going through his kitchen cabinets but he was too set on his idea to change his mind now. _'After all who could be mad about pancakes?'_ Lance thought to himself as he quietly opened the cabinets and drawers to see if Keith had everything he needed. After gathering the ingredients and utensils, Lance got to work, making sure to be as quiet as possible so that he didn't wake up Keith.  It had been a while since Lance had had the opportunity to cook in an actual kitchen and he hadn't realized how much he had missed being able too. Lance smiled to himself as he finished mixing the pancake batter and started slicing some of the fruit from the fruit bowl on Keith's kitchen counter. This would be good. Lance would make breakfast, they would eat, Lance would change clothes and then he and Keith would part ways. Lance would always be able to look back on his time with Keith with fondness, as he did with his other dear memories.  

_'This will be...fine.'_ Lance thought to himself and he poured the first scoop of pancake batter into the now fully heated frying pan.

XOXOXOXOXO

Something smelt really good. That was Keith's first thought as he opened his eyes. Keith's second thought was one of confusion as he wondered where that smell was coming from. Was Lance...cooking? He must be, but the very idea of that was surprising to Keith given that last night Lance hardly touched anything at in the apartment at all. This boy really was a mystery. Flirting and snarky one minute, shy and subdued the next, the boy was so all over the place that Keith had a hard time keeping up. 

Keith yawned as he sat up and stretched. When he glanced at the clock he was surprised to see he had slept in much later than normal. Keith was a notoriously early riser. Although, last night had been a late night. In retrospect, it hadn't been that late when the two of them had decided to go to bed, but Keith hadn't been able to sleep. He laid in bed awake for hours thinking about Lance's story and about everything that had happened between them. At one point Keith even got out of bed to check on the blue eyed boy and found him peacefully asleep on the couch. The blanket Keith had given him had partially slipped off him and was starting to fall onto the floor, so Keith carefully placed it back up around the sleeping boy. Keith had to ball his hands into fists to physically force himself not to run his finger through Lance's slightly ruffled hair, before finally going back to his own room. When he closed the door to his room he was a little embarrassed about how protective he was acting. He wasn't sure how, but he eventually did manage to drift off to sleep and had now woken up to something that smelt good. 

Keith got out of bed and headed towards the kitchen. When he rounded the corner he saw Lance at the stove flipping what looked like a pancake. He watched as Lance continued to cook, noticing the way he had rolled up the sleeves of the sweater Keith had lent him and how he swayed side to side as he hummed the tune of a song to himself. Keith couldn't take his eyes off him. He wasn't even sure how long he had been starring when Lance finally noticed him. 

"Oh...hey sleepyhead." Lance said as though this was completely normal. Keith tried to ignore the fluttering feeling in his chest when he thought about how domestic this situation was. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your kitchen. I probably should have asked first." 

"I don't mind. Anytime I don't have to cook is perfect actually." Keith said making his way towards the coffee maker, thrilled to find that Lance had already brewed a pot. 

"Coffee?" Keith asked as he poured himself a cup. Lance nodded his head and Keith poured him a cup as well. "I didn't know I even had pancake mix."

"You didn't. I made them from scratch." Lance said as he placed another finished pancake onto the plate with the others. 

"Really? You didn't have to go to so much trouble. In fact, you didn't have to cook in the first place." Keith said as he sat down at the kitchen table. 

"I know I didn't have too but...you were really good to me last night Keith, better than most people actually. I just wanted to do something to show you that I'm grateful. It's not much but it's one of the few things I'm good at." Lance said while fixing two plates with pancake and fruit before making his way towards the kitchen table to sit with Keith. 

"So without further ado, Lancey Lance's world famous circus clown pancakes." He said as he set one of the plates in front of Keith. Keith looked down at the plate to see that Lance had arranged the fruit on top of the pancakes to resemble a clown face. Had anyone else set this plate of food in front of Keith he would have thought it was stupid, but from Lance, it was oddly charming. "I usually use whipped cream too, but you didn't have any cream so I had to skip it."

"That's fine. I don't make a habit of eating sweet things anyway." Keith said before cutting into his pancakes and taking a bite. He was surprised by how light and fluffy they were. "These are really good. I'll have to tell Hunk he's got cooking competition."

"Hardly. He said he cooks every day. This is the first time I've cooked with more than just a microwave in probably six or seven months." Lance said with a small chuckle. It amazed Keith that Lance could speak so light hearted and casual about his living situation. 

"You could keep using mine." And just like that Keith's impulsive nature caused him to speak up before his brain could comprehend his words. 

"W-what?!" Lance said dropping his fork, causing a clinking sound as it hit the plate. Lance couldn't possibly have heard Keith say what it sounded like he said. Because if that was the case then that meant Keith was asking him to stay...and that would be crossing the line Lance had yet to draw but knew logically that he should. _'Please don't let him ask...I don't think I'd be able to so no...'_  

"I...I was just thinking that you could stay here while you're in town. It would give you a place to go at the end of the day and you could save a bit of money. It just seems...practical." Keith said. _'And I hate the thought of you trying to sleep under a tree again.'_

"Keith I...I can't do that." Lance said trying to stay strong. He needed to say no. It would be in both of their best interests. "I appreciate the offer but I can't take advantage of your kindness like that. I know that hearing about my past is probably influencing you and last night was not the best example of-"

"That's not the reason." Keith said interrupting Lance. He was not going to take no for an answer.

"Then what is the reason?" Lance said. Keith's stubbornness was starting to chip away at the wall Lance was trying to build. At this rate, it wouldn't be long until he knocked it down completely.  

"I..." Keith started. "I don't really know..."

"That's bullshit. I've lived on the streets long enough to know that people don't do things without a reason." At this point, Lance wasn't sure what he wanted. He knew he needed to draw the line but he kept pushing Keith to give him a reason not to. 

"I don't have a specific reason but I guess if you really need one...it's because I have been there before. Not exactly like you are or have been but it was a hard time in my life and someone stepped in and was there for me. At first, I didn't want them to be, but now I'm glad that they were. If I can do that for you then I'd like to try. I'm not saying you need help. I'm just saying you have a place to stay if you want to. I don't get along with most people but you're...different I guess." Keith said. He didn't know why he was so determined to get Lance to agree to stay. All he knew was that if he let Lance walk out that door right now, he would probably be letting Lance walk out of his life...and Keith wasn't willing to let him go. To hell with the fact they had just met each other yesterday, Lance was someone Keith wanted in his life in whatever way he could have him. Lance was quiet for a minute before speaking.  

"You're different I guess...wow. You know, you're love confessions could use a little work." Lance said with that teasing smirk from the day before, causing Keith to roll his eyes. 

"You're impossible to have a conversation with." Keith sighed. 

"Well, you'll have to get used to it if I'm going to be staying here." 

"You're going to stay?" Keith said, honestly surprised.

"I don't know for how long but if you're serious and sure about your offer to let me; then yes...I will." Lance said. 

_'Please don't let me regret this.'_ They both thought to themselves.


	6. Chapter 6

The two boys finished their breakfast in silence. It wasn't awkward per se, it was just that neither boy knew what to say next. Lance was still trying to come to terms with the fact that not only had he not drawn the line between him and Keith, but he had also gone so far past where he would have drawn it that he couldn't even see it anymore. In his performances, Lance put himself out there. He was open, free and almost in your face. But, when it came to personal relationships Lance never got too close and he locked away the parts of himself that he knew would only lead to heartbreak. Spilling his guts to Keith the night before had left him feeling vulnerable and so emotionally raw that despite his need to put space between them, the thing Lance wanted most was to be comforted. Keith's invitation to stay was exactly what Lance needed in his heart, even though his brain was sounding the alarms to remind him this was a bad idea. 

Keith, on the other hand, was still silent because he was too busy telling himself how stupid he was for not thinking this through. He wanted Lance to stay. He wanted it so bad that it almost physically hurt to think about Lance going anywhere else. But he was being too impulsive. It was one thing to let him stay the night because of bad weather, it was an entirely different thing to say he could stay for an undetermined amount of time. The two of them really didn't know anything about each other. Keith may have gotten more of a glimpse of what made Lance, Lance; but he had hardly any real reason to offer his home to someone who was basically a stranger. When Keith thought about last night and even this morning when Lance had been making breakfast, it didn't feel as abnormal as it would sound or look when acknowledged by a third party. It felt like that was how it was supposed to be. That was the feeling that propelled Keith's impulsiveness. That feeling was why he was still silent.  

Both boys soon finished eating and that's when Keith had noticed the time on the clock near the stove. Had it really gotten that late already?

"I have to start getting ready for work. I need to be at the station in an hour." Keith said as he started to get up from the table. He then went to pick up his plate but was stopped by Lance, who took his plate before Keith could touch it.

"I'll do the dishes, you go get ready for work." Lance said also standing up from the table while gathering the rest of the dishes.

"You sure? You cooked, I can do the dishes. It seems only fair." Keith said.

"Not a chance mullet boy." Lance said. His lips then quirked into that teasing smirk, that Keith couldn't decide if he loved or hated before he spoke again. "After that sub-par love confession, you just got yourself a little housewife. As Mrs. Mullet Boy it's my job to take care of the dishes. Now run along honey and get ready for work. You don't want to be late do you?"

"Oh for the love of...It was not a love confession...ugh...I'm starting to think that there is no chance I will ever have a normal conversation with you." Keith sighed as he started to walk down the hall towards the bathroom so he could shower. After he finished and changed into his uniform he walked back out into the living room. He noticed that Lance had changed back into his outfit from the day before and had folded the clothes Keith had given him, which he placed on the end of the coffee table.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted me to do with your clothes." Lance said gesturing to the coffee table. He suddenly sounded unsure and apprehensive again. He was teasing and flirtatious before Keith had gotten into the shower and now he was back to doing that timid, shy thing he had done last night when they first got back to the apartment.  If one thing was clear it was that the road to figuring Lance out had a lot of emotional detours.

"They're fine there for now. What are your plans for the day? Just so I know where to meet up with you when my shift is over." Keith said as he grabbed the last of the stuff he would need for the day. It had been dark and stormy last night on the way back from the park so Keith knew there was no way Lance had seen how they got to his place. Keith had expected some sort of teasing comment about the way he had worded his sentence in such a domestic, relationship eques type way, but was surprised when Lance had answered seriously.

"I was thinking of spending the day in the park again. The sun is out so I was going to go over by the paddle boat pond to do my act today. Hopefully, the sunshine will help draw in more foot traffic and a decent-sized crowd."

"I'll just meet you in the park when I'm done then. I've got the short patrol shift today so I should be done by 6:30." 

"It's a date." Lance teased as the two of them stepped out the front door. He couldn't help himself. Lance was a natural flirt and with some people, it was too easy to push their buttons, Keith being a perfect example. There was more to it than that though. Right now the blue-eyed boy's flirting was more of a defense mechanism; casual flirtation was easier to deal with than real emotions. He wanted to tease Keith enough to fluster and bug him but not enough that Keith would reciprocate. Lance's heart was currently an open target and if Keith were to aim his interest at the right angle, it would be a direct hit.

XOXOXOXOXO

Keith dropped Lance off at the entrance of the park, reminding him when he would pick him up. Lance gave him a salute while mockingly saying ' _yes sir.'_ He then blew Keith a kiss and winked before turning and walking down the path. Lance knew it was over the top and he should probably tone it down, but the flustered look on Keith's face was well worth it. 

Keith shook his head before he started driving to the police station. After parking his bike and heading into the building, Keith noticed that he was getting a few odd looks from his coworkers. When Keith checked his watch he realized why. Keith was the type to show up very early for his shifts and was also stayed way past when his shift ended; today Keith was right on time. He groaned to himself as he walked to his desk. The other officers might not say anything to him but he knew Shiro would have a lot to say and Keith wasn't sure if he was in the mindset to handle what would be said. 

"So..." Shiro said as he walked up to Keith's desk, causing Keith to become tense. "Fun night last night?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Keith said as he tried to feign ignorance.

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean." Shiro said as he and Keith walked out to their police car. "That blue-eyed street performer really did mesmerize you didn't he? You left here in such a hurry yesterday, which would be abnormal enough for you in general. I had my suspicions of where you ran off too and was glad to have them confirmed when I got an interesting phone call from Hunk."

"Drop it Shiro." Keith said in a warning tone as he and Shiro got into the car to start their shift.

"He said he had to call and tell me all about how you may or may not have been on a date with a really interesting guy who may or may not be your boyfriend. I know you aren't really the dating type and you aren't the jump right in bed with someone type either, so this guy must be pretty special if he earned a dinner date with you. I'm also guessing things got heated after dinner since you were late to work today."

"I wasn't late." Keith snapped.

"Late for you. You've always been early for work never just on time. He must be quite something if he's got you this riled up and defensive."

"Nothing...happened." Keith said. It wasn't a total lie, a lot happened; it just wasn't what Shiro was implying.

"Why the hesitation?"

"I met him in the park, we had dinner, he...came to my place, he slept on the couch, we had breakfast and then I dropped him back off at the park." Keith said. He really didn't want to elaborate. Shiro had always been like an older brother to Keith and he knew that when Shiro heard the details, his overprotective older brother instincts would take over and Keith was not in the mood for a lecture. 

"You've never been a good liar Keith. There is obviously more to it than that." Shiro said. Keith knew he wouldn't let up until Keith talked so he might as well get this over with.

"Fine. He street performs for a living and moves from place to place. He had some issues with his family and hasn't had an actual home since he was 16. I knew after we fined him he was probably low on cash. I don't know why I cared so much and I still don't but I did and do so I went to the park to check on him and heard him saying he couldn't afford a room for the night. I walked up to him, we talked. Might have flirted a little but he's attractive so sue me for being able to appreciate that. Anyway, I took him to Hunk's for dinner because I knew Hunk wouldn't make us pay. When we were done I told him he could sleep on my couch if he wanted. He got pissed and stormed off down the road. I went home but the rain got worse and I knew he was out in it, so I went looking for him. Found him under a tree and he was drenched. I managed to convince him to come back to my place. He took a hot shower, I dried his clothes, we had tea and talked. He told me how he's been on the streets since he was 16 after getting fucked over by a couple of con artists he was living with. After talking, we went to sleep. This morning he made breakfast, we ate, I told him he could keep staying at my place while he was in town, he was reluctant but agreed. I dropped him off at the park and came to work. Satisfied?" Keith said before mentally counting down for Shiro's lecture. ' _3, 2, 1...'_  

"Keith are you out of your mind?!" Shiro exclaimed. "This is an entirely new level of recklessness, even for you. This isn't like when you were a child and would bring home stray animals, this is a human being. A human being who has been homeless for a good chunk of his life. A human being who admitted to being involved with con artists. Keith do you have any idea how convenient this whole thing is? He makes it obvious he's in need of money, then you offer him help and he puts on a show refusing it and somehow makes you feel guilty, he makes you feel even more guilty by sitting under a tree in the rain, you take him to your place and he breaks out the sob story of his troubled past only to get you to offer help again and this time he takes it. You know nothing about this guy. You can't keep acting on impulse Kei-"

"You weren't there Shiro! You didn't see him. You didn't watch the way his eyes lit up when he was teasing me in front of Hunk. You didn't how he tried not to blush from embarrassment about being scared of riding on the back of my bike. You didn't see the anger when he thought I was doing it out of pity, the way those bright blue eyes turned to ice. You didn't see him shivering and stubborn under that tree in the rain. You didn't see how shy and anxious he was when we got to my place. You did not hear the way he said thank you. The way he said those two words, they had so much emotional impact that I felt like I had been shot in the chest.  You didn't see or hear the raw emotion when he was telling me about his past. You didn't see him cry. You didn't see so you don't know a god damn thing! I know he's not lying or using me Shiro, I know it. Is it probably one of the stupidest things I've ever done, absolutely...that doesn't change the fact that I'm glad I did it. You know me, Shiro, you know I don't like being around most people; but I like being around Lance."

"You've only known him for about a day, Keith. How can you be so sure?"

"I don't know...there is just this energy between us. Hunk noticed it too. Said he would have thought Lance and I had known each other for years. There something there Shiro and I need to find out what it is."

"Just...just promise me that you'll be careful, and try to be less impulsive and more patient. Patience-"

"Yields focus, I know." Keith said as he rolled his eyes. Shiro chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking...if Hunk tells Pidge about Lance before you do, you are going to get one nasty phone call." Shiro chuckled again. Keith's whole body completely tensed as Shiro's words sunk in.

"Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to add a little overprotective bit brother Shiro!!  
> Next Chapter will be more Lance, Klance and a bit more team Voltron; as Pidge will finally be making an appearance and you know she's going to demand to meet Keith's new 'boy toy' Lol  
> Hope you guys are enjoying it so far!! <3 <3 <3


	7. Chapter 7

After blowing Keith a kiss, Lance quickly turned to walk down the path. Mostly in an attempt to hide the fact that the act had made him blush. Getting Keith flustered would have been more fun if at times it didn't leave Lance feeling equally as embarrassed. The blue-eyed boy loved flirting because it added a fun and interesting dynamic to the conversations he had with the people he met. There was something different about flirting with Keith though. His reactions were different every time. Sometimes Keith would get flustered, like just now. Other times he would roll his eyes and brush it off as if Lance had never said anything in the first place. Then there were the times when Keith would get a cocky smirk on his face, the kind that made Lance weak in the knees before he would acknowledge Lance's flirting with an equally flirtatious comment. All of these reactions did things to Lance that he wasn't ready to feel or experience.   

When Lance heard the sound of Keith's bike start to disappear into the distance he turned his head to watch him go. He couldn't deny that Keith was attractive and watching him on his motorcycle only increased that fact. Maybe it was the fingerless leather riding gloves Keith wore, which Lance had briefly wondered how they would feel against his skin if Keith were to touch him while he was still wearing them. Lance, of course, forced that thought out of his head as soon as he had finished thinking it. He was having a hard enough time trying to figure out how to interact with Keith as it was. The last thing Lance needed was a sexual fantasy or two to complicate things even further. 

Maybe it was the reckless 'need for speed' attitude. The media did like to portray the bad boy trope as being a pretty big turn on, and Lance would be lying if he said he didn't understand the appeal. Maybe it was how free Keith looked while riding his bike. Lance had never been on a motorcycle until he met Keith. It had been a little terrifying for Lance but while he was holding onto Keith for dear life, Lance could feel that there was no tension in Keith's body. He was relaxed and look like he felt as free as a bird, flying down the streets of the town. Or maybe it was just as simple as Lance having a thing for guys on motorcycles in general. It didn't have to be a Keith thing...although... 

Lance had a hunch that it probably was, in fact, a Keith thing.  

Once he could no longer see the other boy, Lance continued to walk down the park path.  As he walked he kicked a few of the rocks on the path in frustration. ' _What is wrong with me? Calling myself Mrs. Mullet Boy, blowing him kisses...agreeing to stay. He probably thinks I'm a complete space case or a total goofball after everything that's happened. I don't understand why he's so insistent on wanting to keep me around and help me. And I really don't understand why I'm letting him. Maybe it's because...I mean...is it really so wrong to want to have a place that feels like home? Even...if it's only temporary.'_   Lance thought to himself before sighing. He then noticed the park map sign so he stopped to see which way he had to go to get to the paddle boat pond. _'...it has to be temporary...I can't let whatever this thing is, go any further than it already has.'_  

It had been so much, so fast with Keith. As much as Lance wanted to explore what was happening between them, he wasn't sure he was ready for something that felt so real and substantial. Regardless of the amount of time they had spent together, Lance knew that Keith already had enough of an effect on him that it would be all too easy to have his heartbroken. Lance had met a lot of people in his travels but only a few of them had made a real impact on him...yet it was not nearly the same way Keith had. If he wasn't going to draw the line, then he would need to at least keep a healthy dose of space between them. If he brought back more of the bicker and banter and tried to flirt without actually flirting, Lance felt that that would be the best way to keep things light and easy between them. Keith may have knocked down part of Lance's wall but that didn't mean the blue-eyed boy couldn't build a fence to patch that gap in the meantime.

Speaking of fences, Lance realized that he had made it to the paddle boat pond; which was surrounded by a long wooden fence.  A bright smile overtook Lance's face as he got an idea. Lance walked closer to the pond before setting his suitcase down and stretching his limbs. After unzipping his suitcase Lance pulled out several small hoops, a few that were the size of dessert plates and a few the size of dinner plates. With the hoops in hand, Lance carefully climbed up onto the top of the fence. A few people had stopped to see what the blue-eyed boy was doing. Lance could hear the confused murmurs from the adults and excited shouts from small children. 

Lance started to gracefully walk along the fence beam while juggling the hoops. To add a bit more excitement Lance started to walk backward. He slid a few of the hoops on his left arm and started twirling them while still juggling the rest in his right hand. He earned a few oohs and awes as more people started to crowd around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the people who were in the paddle boats on the pond pointing at him, clearly enjoying the entertainment. 

"Like what you guys see so far, huh?" Lance said teasingly as he engaged the crowd. "Well how about I take it up a notch? Don't try this at home boys and girls." 

Lance put a few of the hoops onto one of his ankles before he bent over so that his hands were touching the post. He then used enough momentum that he was able to start walking on his hand across the fence beam while twirling the hoops around his ankle. The crowd cheered and Lance could see that several people had dropped money into his suitcase. Acrobatic tricks were one of Lance's favorite things to perform and were always a crowd-pleaser. Lance flipped back onto his feet and gathered all of his hoops into his hands. He then tossed all of them into the air at an angle where they would land just slightly away from him. Before the crowd had a real chance to process what was happening Lance did a cartwheel along the beam, landing just in time to stick his arm out and catch all of the hoops in a sort of ring toss fashion. The crowd erupted in applause.

"Who's ready for my next trick?" Lance asked. The crowd cheered and Lance took that as his cue to continue.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

This was exactly what Lance needed to take his mind off his mixed emotions. To just be able to let loose and be free. To hear the oohs and awes, the laughter, the applause. To be able to show off, showboat, make a complete and total spectacle of himself. Performing in front of a crowd was where Lance knew he belonged. It was the one thing that brought him true happiness. 

It hadn't always been that way though. 

When Lance was little, being in the spotlight was the greatest feeling he had ever known. His brothers and sisters would tease him about being dramatic and an attention seeker, but that did little to deter young Lance. As he started to get older his love for performing only grew stronger, and seeing a real live circus had opened his eyes to what he wanted his future to be. Unfortunately, that was also when Lance started to learn that dreams aren't always easy to reach. His family had tolerated Lance's interests to a certain point. When they expressed their disapproval it had started to add a twinge of sadness to the feelings of joy Lance felt in front of an audience. When his father had outright refused to accept that performing was what Lance wanted to do, it had practically crushed his spirit. Even after all this time, Lance could remember that day.

_"It's time you get your head out of the clouds Leonardo. This is not something you can make reliable money from. It's time to stop being so childish."_

_"But Papa...I love performing. I'm good at it and it's so much fun. It makes me happ-"_

_"I said enough! You are not a child anymore and it is now time to grow up. Your brothers and sisters are working towards respectable life goals and all you want to do are some silly tricks for pocket change. No son of mine will be a glorified clown."_

When his mother had echoed his father's remarks it had only made things worse for Lance. He remembers crying himself to sleep that night, though sleep didn't last long. Lance had woken up in the very early hours of the morning. With the knowledge that his parents were never going to accept his dream, the only logical conclusion his fourteen-year-old mind could come to was that he should run away. Runaway to join the circus, run away to peruse his dream. He packed a bag with his things and as quietly as he could he snunk down the stairs. He wasn't quiet enough though. His older sister Veronica had caught him. She tried her best to talk Lance out of going and for a few brief minutes he had almost reconsidered. Out of all of his siblings, he was closest to Veronica. He told her everything and even though she would tease him relentlessly she was a good big sister. It hurt Lance to know he would be leaving her. He ran into her arms and the two stood like that for a long time. Lance then whispered that he was sorry before he ran out the front door.

It didn't get any easier after that. The joy of performing slowly faded every day. It had almost disappeared completely when he met Rolo and Nyma. They brought a new perspective to Lance's talents and for a while, Lance thought that everything would work out. He felt guilty at first when he realized they were stealing from people. But Rolo and Nyma convinced him that they weren't doing anything wrong. After all, everyone had to do something to survive in this world. The people they were taking from already had more than enough, surely they could spare a little and learn to 'share'. Lance was still so young and naïve to the ways of the world. These two strangers had taken him in, given him a home, and were kind to him. They taught him things and they encouraged Lance's performing dreams. He would have done anything and everything they asked...and he did. When they betrayed him there was no more joy or happiness. There really wasn't even a dream anymore. Everything about performing had become singed with negativity when the fiery passion Lance had once felt, had been doused by all the people who he had once thought cared about him.

It didn't help that his father refused to let him come home. He said if this was the life Lance wanted he could have it. He made his bed now he had to lie in it. His mother and Veronica tried to convince his father to let Lance come home but it fell on deaf ears. Lance's father was a stubborn man and wouldn't be easily swayed into changing his mind. His other sister and brothers wanted to speak up as well but knew nothing would come from it so they stayed silent. That night Lance was back on the streets all alone.

Lance was on a downward spiral. He was lost and struggling. He missed his family and felt so stupid forever running away. Then it happened, he found that spark again. Lance saw a young child, who reminded him so much of himself, begging his friends to watch him do cartwheels. It might sound crazy that something so silly had brought back those feelings Lance had longed to feel again. The love of performing was still shadowed with sadness and heartache but the pure joy and happiness outshined all of that. 

Lance continued to reminisce as he walked down the path. He didn't want Keith to have to come to find him again so Lance planned on sitting on the bench outside the park entrance to wait for him. While performing had helped take his mind off the Keith situation earlier, it was now back at the forefront of his mind once again. Lance let out a whine as he plopped down on the bench. He knew how he wanted to handle things with Keith...But...there was something about Keith that made Lance act without thinking.  Lance let out a sigh. It was at times like this that Lance wished he had someone to talk to help him sort out what he was feeling towards Keith. His mind drifted back to his big sister Veronica. _'_

_I can just picture it.'_ Lance thought to himself. _I'd tell her everything and then she'd probably ruffle my hair and say something stupid like 'when's the wedding? I better be the best man even though I'm your sister.' Then I'd bat her hand away and tell her to be serious and she'd give me that raised eyebrow look and say something like 'you're too dense for your own good, lover boy.'_ Lance started to laugh as he thought about how the possible interaction with his sister would go if he was able to talk to her. The laughter came to an abrupt stop when Lance realized something. ' _oh no...does this mean? No. No, no, no, no, no...I only just met him. There is no way I could be in-'_

The sound of Keith's motorcycle pulling into the parking lot interrupted Lance before he could finish that thought. Keith started to get off his bike just as Lance got up from the bench. The other boy looked a little surprised to see Lance walking up to the bike.

"I figured you'd still be performing. I was expecting to have to try and find you again." Keith said as he leaned back against his bike. 

"Well as much as I love a good game of hide-and-seek, I thought I'd save you a little trouble." Lance said. 

"How considerate. Especially since you've been nothing but trouble since the moment we met."

"What's the matter officer am I too much of a handful for you?" Lance said internally cringing at the flirty tone he had used.

"Hardly. I know how to deal with bratty troublemakers like you. You'd be surprised by what I can handle." Keith said. Lance's eyes widened at Keith's words.  The blue-eyed boy unconsciously licked his lips before speaking again.

"I'm sure I would be..." Lance said quietly. It was clear to both boys that this conversation was heading in a very dangerous direction. 

"So...um...How was your day? Keith asked awkwardly, trying to change the subject.

"What...Oh, it was great actually." Lance said. His whole face lit up in excitement. Lance was reminded of his earlier thoughts about how nice it would be to have someone to talk to. Keith asking about his day made Lance happy on a level he hadn't felt in a long time. "I got to perform some of my acrobatic tricks and the crowd loved it just like they usually do. They loved me so much today that I made enough to afford the performing permit fee and still have a little leftover. It was a really good day. How was your day?"

"It was...alright I guess," Keith said as he averted eye contact with Lance. He really didn't want to tell Lance what had happened with Shiro. It had taken a lot of effort to get the blue-eyed boy to agree to stay in the first place. If he found out that someone Keith was close to had warned Keith to be careful around him, then Lance's fight or flight instincts might tell him to run away. He watched Lance tilt his head to the side and open his mouth to ask Keith to elaborate but Keith cut him off. 

"Are you hungry? I was thinking we could get pizza." He said as he started to turn to get on his bike. Before he could he felt two hands grab the front of his jacket and pull him back around.

"Pizza, no way." Lance said as he tugged Keith closer to him. "You have a fridge full of food and promised I could use your kitchen." Lance realized that not only was he still holding onto Keith's jacket but he had pulled the other boy very close to him. So close that they were practically pressed against each other.  Lance hadn't meant to, in fact, he wasn't sure why he had reached out to get Keith's attention in that manner. Both boys blushed before backing away from each other like they had experienced an electric shock.

"A-re...Are you were sure you want to cook? You really don't have to." Keith said.

"Yeah...yes, I do want to cook. I like it. I used to help my mother and sisters in the kitchen. It's nostalgic I guess." Lance said.

"Ok. What were you thinking of making? Depending on what it is we might need to stop by the grocery store." Keith said.

"I didn't really have anything in mind. I thought I'd see what you have and go from there." Lance said. Keith nodded and got on his bike and gestured for Lance to do the same. "Oh, um...Before we go back to your place I was wondering, is there somewhere in town that I can get some postcards?"

"Postcards? They have a pretty good selection of them at the souvenir shop near the hardware store." Keith said. "We can stop on the way if you want."

"If you don't mind." 

"I don't mind, but you'll have to get on the bike before we can go anywhere," Keith said with a smirk. He knew Lance still wasn't comfortable with the idea of riding the motorcycle. This morning and even last night in the rain Lance had stalled in some way before actually getting on. And if that wasn't enough of an indication, how tightly Lance still wrapped his arms around Keith's waist before he had even started the bike was a pretty good clue.

"Right..." Lance said with a small laugh before he slowly made his way closer to the bike. He was just about to swing his leg over the bike when Keith spoke up again.

"Sometime today would be nice."

"Geez...pick one will ya. Either you're a nice guy or an asshole. You can't be both." Lance said as he finally got onto the bike and wrapped his arms around Keith's waist.

"I beg to differ," Keith said. Lance couldn't see the other boy's face but he could tell Keith was smirking again.

"Just drive mullet boy." Lance said resting his forehead in between Keith's shoulder blades. 

"You're really stuck on that mullet boy insult. I would have expected that wit of yours to last longer. You must be losing your touch." Keith smirked as he was just about to start his bike.

"Wait!" Lance said tightening his grip around Keith's waist.

"What now?" Keith sighed in annoyance. As cute as Keith found Lance's nervousness, it wasn't that cute. Keith internally cringed when he realized that he considered Lance cute in any amount. He knew that he had feelings for the blue-eyed boy, he just didn't know exactly what those feelings were. Thinking Lance was cute was an indication of what those feelings were but Keith refused to accept that he could have romantic feelings for someone he barely knew.  

"I...I think I found it." Lance said in a tone that Keith couldn't quite figure out. It was shy and seductive at the same time. Like Lance was about to amp up the flirting but was embarrassed about what he was about to say. Nothing could have prepared Keith for what was about to happen next. 

"Found what?" Keith asked. He then felt Lance shift behind him and was shocked when he could feel Lance's warm breath on the back of his neck.

"My...touch...but I wish I had found yours instead..." Lance whispered into Keith's ear, saying each word so slowly that Keith could feel Lance's breath on his skin again. He then slid his hand down Keith's stomach to the top of the other boy's pants and ran his fingers teasingly across Keith's belt buckle. Keith was struck speechless by Lance's actions. "Guess I'm not the only one at a loss for words. Which is a shame because I'm going to miss those snarky comebacks of y- ahhhh!" Lance was cut off mid sentences when Keith started his bike and startled him. 

"Snarky enough for you." Keith said before driving down the road the souvenir shop, which effectively stopping Lance from speaking. Keith had to start his bike because the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous. Lance's little stunt had created so many images in his mind about what he'd love to do to the blue-eyed boy. About all the things he could do to stop those sinful words from leaving Lance's mouth and leave the boy completely incoherent. If one thing was sure in Keith's mind it was that he could not have sex with Lance. Sex would only complicate whatever this was and Keith needed to sort out and label what they were before any new complications arose. 

Meanwhile, Lance was freaking out, and it wasn't just the fact that he was still uncomfortable on the motorcycle. ' _What the hell was that!?!'_ Lance thought to himself as he unconsciously tightened his grip on Keith's waist. ' _I can't believe I just did that! Do I really hate the idea of him one-upping me so much that I had to resort to seductive flirt mode? I can't keep sending him mixed signals like that. He's going to get the wrong idea.'_ But...what idea did Lance really want him to get? Lance knew they couldn't be together...so why did he want to so badly? The blue-eyed boy was beyond frustrated with himself and completely embarrassed. He was glad Keith couldn't see his face right now or a whole new level of teasing would begin. By the time Keith stopped the bike Lance had managed to will away the embarrassment and act somewhat normal. The two walked into the souvenir shop and Keith lead Lance over towards the postcard display.

"What are the postcards for?" Keith asked. He wasn't sure how, but things felt surprisingly normal between the two of them. Keith was thankful that there wasn't any awkward tension after what had just happened.

"Well Keith, traditionally people buy postcards to write messages on the back and mail them to other people around the world." Lance explained teasingly before browsing the postcard selection.

"I know what postcards are for." Keith said rolling his eyes. "I meant why did you need them? It's not like anyone can respond to you if you send one." Keith immediately felt like an asshole for his lack of tact. 

"You're not wrong." Lance said with a small laugh. "I know I can't get any responses. But there are a few people I've met in my travels that I consider to be important to me. I know they worry about me so every time I get to a new town I mail them a postcard to let them know I'm doing ok. I also send one to my family for the same reason. I know things are rough between us...but they are my family and I want them to know I'm alright. I have no way of knowing if anyone gets my postcards or if they are even reading them. I think I send them more for my peace of mind than anything else."

Keith just watched in awe as Lance carefully looked at each postcard. It was clear that Lance was taking his time to pick out the perfect postcard for each person he was going to send them too. It also amazed Keith how undeniably sweet Lance was. The blue-eyed boy's family had basically thrown him out after making a few mistakes and yet Lance was still taking the time to send them a card to let them know he was ok. He clearly cared about his family even though, in Keith's perspective, the feeling might not be entirely mutual. After picking out nine postcards and a package of stamps Lance and Keith made their way to the register so Lance could pay.

"That's a lot of cards." Keith said. He was a bit curious about who Lance was writing to. Based on the things Lance had told him, and even how he acted around him, it was clear Lance didn't get close to people. Keith was hoping to learn more about Lance without actually asking and prying too much.

"Well, I like to send one to each of my four siblings. One is for my parents. One for that girl Plaxum that I told you about. One for this guy named Coran, who is kind of like that crazy uncle you only see at family get-togethers but wish you could see more often. One for his niece Allura, who I got pretty close to because she reminds me of my older sister Veronica. I stayed with Allura and Coran for a while before they moved back to London. And the last one is for this guy named Matt. He's a student at this fancy school for super-smart people. I met him after a had a slight mishap with one of my tricks. I ended up spraining my ankle pretty badly and he helped me get back on my feet, no pun intended."

"Wow. You've had a pretty interesting life from the sounds of it." Keith said. 

"Sure have. It would make a pretty good made for T.V. movie starring actors that people only know from their other roles and not actually by name." Lance joked. 

The two boys got back on Keith's bike and headed back to Keith's place. As soon as they got back Lance headed to the kitchen and started to poke around and see what Keith had for him to make dinner. After grabbing a few things Lance got to work. Keith offered to help but Lance just made a teasing comment in reference to his little housewife comment from this morning and told Keith to got relax while he took care of dinner. Once it was ready the two ate and actually had a conversation without any flirting. It was nice, friendly and most importantly it felt comfortable. Both boys were a little amazed by how at ease they could be around each other when they weren't focusing on their mutual mixed feelings and overthinking every action or word spoken. When dinner was finished and the dishes were done they moved to the living room.

"It's not that late yet. Do you want to watch a movie or play a video game or something?" Keith asked. 

"Oh gosh, I can't even remember the last time I played video games." Lance said. Keith didn't have a great selection of games but the two agreed to play some shooting game Lance claimed to have only played once.  Keith handed Lance one of the controllers and started the game. After a few rounds, it was clear Lance had undersold his gaming abilities.

"Only played this game once my ass. You are so full of shit." Keith said. "I can't believe I let myself get hustled."

"You can't be that surprised. I did live with con artists remember?" Lance joked as he fired yet another winning shot. "Bam! And that's why they call me sharpshooter." 

Keith rolled his eyes before moving his hand under Lance's controller and knocked it out of the blue-eyed boy's hands. He knew it was immature but the look on Lance's face was priceless. 

"Is that how we're playing this? Didn't know mullet boy was such a sore loser." Lance said before copying Keith's action of knocking the controller out of the other boy's hands, the only difference being that he caught it afterward.

"Oh, it's on now." Keith said as he leaned forward and snatched the controller back. Lance wasn't quite done with this immature game so he leaned over to grab the controller from Keith again, only to practically end up pinning Keith to the couch. The other boy was having none of that though and attempted to shift his weight to swap their positions. Unfortunately, Keith misjudged the amount of force he used and the two boys ended up falling off the couch; Lance hitting the floor with Keith landing on top of him.

"Shit. Are you ok?" Keith asked as he used his arms to push himself up a little. Keith was struck motionless at the sight underneath him. Lance's face was flushed from the previous struggle and he was giggling slightly from their silly play fight. His bright blue eyes, that always caught Keith's attention, were closed but even still it was a sight Keith could get used to and would love to see happen again under different circumstances.

"I think...so." Lance said as he opened his eyes. His words slowly drifting off as he realized the position they were in. They were so close that Lance could feel just how warm Keith's body was. Neither boy moved for what felt like forever. There was an unspoken reason why nether wanted to move. The energy in the room completely changed. Keith looked at Lance's lips before he started to lean down. Lance was also on the same page and in this moment decided he didn't want to fight it anymore. He closed his eyes and parted his lips slightly while Keith continued to lean down. He could feel Keith's warm breath as the boys hesitated for a moment. Keith was just about to kiss the blue-eyed boy when the loud ringing of Keith's cell phone shocked both boys enough that they scrambled away from each other. Keith cursed under his breath as he picked up his phone to see who was calling. His displeasure only increased when he saw who it was.

"Someone had better be dying Pidge or I swear to God." Keith snapped as he answered the phone.

"Oh come on Kogane. You are one of the most boring people I know. I highly doubt I interrupted you doing anything worth giving me this much attitude." She said in that irritatingly smug tone.

"Pidge you have until I count to three to get to the point of your call or I am hanging up." 

"So emo Keith is in one of his moods, got it. I was calling to remind you about game night tomorrow night."

"And that couldn't have waited?"

"Nope. It was of the highest importance that I call you right now. You better show up tomorrow. Game night is the only night I willingly take a break from my work, so no excuses."

"We do this every week Pidge, I wasn't going to forget. And I will be there but I will hate every minute of it just like I always do.

"Atta boy. Oh and Keith..." Pidge said in that tone that she only used it when she was up to something.

"What?" Keith asked. He wouldn't admit it out loud but there were times when Pidge scared him with how devious she could be.

"Be sure to bring that new boy toy of yours that Hunk told me all about." She didn't even give Keith a chance to respond before she hung up. Keith ran his hand through his hair before sitting back on the couch with a sigh.

"What was that all about?" Lance asked. Although he wasn't looking at Keith. So much for that relaxed atmosphere, they had had earlier.

"My friend Pidge, Hunks girlfriend, was just reminding me about game night tomorrow." Keith said. "She invited you too. Hunk told her about you and she's the curious type so she wants you to come too. You don't have too if you don't want to. If I wasn't friends with them I wouldn't be going either."

"It sounds like fun." Lance said. The two sat in silence for a few more minutes before they decided it was getting late. After shutting off the game and changing clothes the two boys said goodnight. As Keith laid in bed and Lance laid on the couch, they both attempted not to think about their almost kiss.

_'What would have happened if that phone call hadn't stopped us?"_ They both wondered before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised more "team Voltron" in this chapter but I got carried away with the Lance/Klance stuff lol. Next chapter the other's will all get to spend time with Lance and of course tease the hell out of Keith. :) 
> 
> Hope you guys are liking it so far. <3  
> Comment and Kudos are appreciated <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD!! I AM THE WORST!!  
> This took waaaaaayyyyy too long to write!! I am so sorry guys!!  
> Work had been a nightmare, leaving me ZERO time to work on it.  
> BUT!!!!  
> I finally have a new chapter for you guys!!!  
> Hope you like it!!!  
> <3 <3 <3 <3

It was early evening when Keith and Lance pulled up in front of Pidge and Hunk's apartment for game night. As soon as Keith stopped his bike, Lance wasted no time jumping off. Keith however, stayed right where he was. He noticed that Shiro's car was parked a few spaces away, indicating that he had already arrived. If Keith was being completely honest he had no desire to go upstairs. Keith had known Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro almost his entire life and even though the four of them were close, he knew without a doubt that if he brought Lance upstairs the other three were going to spend the entire night tormenting them. Just thinking about it had Keith pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing in frustration.  He then looked up at Lance who was standing on the sidewalk with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, waiting for him so they could go into the building together.  

"You coming?" Lance asked as he tilted his head to the side. The action always made Lance look so innocent and Keith would be lying through his teeth if he were to say it wasn't completely adorable. Lance had no idea what would be in store for them if and when they finally made their way upstairs for game night.

"Do we have too...?" Keith sighed.

"Keith you invited me." Lance chuckled.

"I know," Keith said. "But seriously. It's not too late to turn around and go back to my place."

"Keith..."

"Or we could go for a drive, get you more comfortable with the bike." Keith suggested. 

"Keith, I refuse to be on that death trap any longer than I have to. The ride here and back to your place after will be more than enough for one day."

"Deathtrap, really? You are such a drama queen. Not the point though. Anyway, we could literally do anything else. Anything you want. Just don't make me go up there." Keith knew realistically that he was being ridiculous. It was just game night, how bad could it really be? Keith watched Lance's amused facial expression start to shift into that unsure look Lance got when he seemed to be uncomfortable or nervous. 

"Keith...do you...is this because you don't want me to meet your friends?" Lance said avoiding eye contact. That had to be the reason right? Why else would Keith be this against going to see people he was close with?

"What?" Keith said. He was genuinely shocked. 

"I mean I totally understand if you don't. We don't know each other that well or...at all really. So it makes sense that it would be weird for someone who is basically a stranger to join in on something that you and your friends have been doing for a long time." Lance said realizing he was rapidly reaching rambling territory. "It's cool if you don't want me to go with you. I can just walk back to your place or find something to do until your done. I don't want things to be uncomfortable for you or your frien-"

"Lance, what are you talking about?" Keith said interrupting the blue-eyed boy. 

"I just don't want you to feel like you have to include me just because you're letting me stay at your place for now."  Lance said. He now felt sure enough of himself to make eye contact with Keith again. The last thing Lance ever wanted to become was a burden to someone else.

After their almost kiss, Lance had spent all of last night and this morning thinking about what was going on between him and Keith. He was surprised with himself that he had so easily decided that he didn't want to fight his feelings for Keith anymore. It had been years since Lance had wanted somebody so badly, not just in the sexual sense but also in every other sense of the meaning. It had terrified Lance that he was so willing to open up to another person after years of locking himself away. The idea of trusting Keith scared Lance more than anything else in the world. A big part of Lance was thankful that the phone rang when it did because in those few brief moments before the call, Lance realized he didn't want Keith just for a moment, a night, a few more days. 

No...he wanted Keith forever. 

It was crazy. They had known each other a few days and Lance was willing to give Keith eternity, with absolutely no guarantee that Keith even wanted it. Lance thanked whatever God had let the phone interrupt them because It had allowed him to slam the door shut on those feelings once again. He would not burden Keith anymore than he already had. "Lance...it's not..." Keith said trying to explain so that Lance wouldn't get the wrong idea. Keith wanted to make sure that Lance knew that he was being completely sincere in his actions. It still baffled Keith how much he cared about Lance's feelings. Whenever Lance had that unsure look or it felt like he was distancing himself, Keith had the overwhelming urge to build whatever emotional bridge he had to in order to reach the blue-eyed boy again. 

Keith had never been good at dealing with his own feelings and emotions and he was even worse when it came to the feelings and emotions of others. Keith had never met anyone that made him want to try this hard or care this much. Sure, he cared about the feelings of his friends but they had known Keith all their lives. They knew he wasn't their go-to person if they needed a shoulder to cry on or any other form of emotional support. Keith was a great friend. His strengths just lied in other areas. He would do anything for the people he cared about. He was fiercely protective and loyal. He would be there at the drop of a hat if they needed him...but...if there were tears, self-doubt, anger, panic or any other form of emotional distress, Keith would freeze. It had become a mutual agreement between Keith and his friends that he didn't need to help with that side of their relationship. They knew Keith loved them and that was enough. 

The only problem with that was now Keith had next to no skills in dealing with feelings and emotions and was at a serious loss at how to talk to Lance right now. Keith had never realized what a problem this could be until he met Lance. Almost immediately from the get-go, Keith had managed to fuck things up between them with the way he had invited Lance to stay with him that first night. He wasn't even sure how he actually managed to get Lance out of the rain that night or how he managed to get Lance to talk to him. Keith had had no idea what to do when Lance started crying. He was honestly too afraid to say anything for fear of making it worse. So he had done the first thing he could think of which was to gently brush away those tears. That small action seemed to be more than enough for Lance and Keith was thankful for that. 

Now here he was again in a situation where Lance was in that emotional zone where one wrong word or action from Keith could cause damage in their developing...acquaintanceship...friendship...temporary roommateship? Keith still wasn't sure what to label their relationship. But that was neither here nor there. Keith needed to say something...anything.

"It's not that, really...Ok well...you and I going up together is partially why, but not for the reasons you're thinking."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are pretty bad at the whole 'making people feel better' thing." Lance said.  He was partially teasing but there was a lot of truth also spoken in Lance's words. So far Keith's explanation had done very little to ease Lance's growing insecurities.  

"Are you going to mouth off every time I say something or can I finish?" Keith snapped a little harsher than he meant to. Keith was always quick to get defensive and even though that wasn't going to help in this situation,  it happened to fast for Keith to stop it. The messaged seemed to get across though because Lance mimicked that childish action of zipping his lips, locking them shut and putting the imaginary key into the top left pocket of his jacket. After patting his pocket twice he gestured for Keith to continue. Keith let out a small sigh before speaking again.

"You know how the other night at Hunk's you put on that ridiculous show pretending that we were on a date."

"I'm familiar with my work," Lance said causing Keith to glare. "Right." Lance said before 're-zipping' his lips. Keith rolled his eyes. How could someone be so annoying and adorable at the same time?

"Anyway. Even though I told Hunk repeatedly that night that it wasn't a date, he apparently wasn't completely convinced. So he told Shiro and Pidge that you might possibly be my new boyfriend. When we get up there I know the whole night is going to be them making comments and jokes at mostly my expense. It's not that I don't want you to meet them, actually, you would probably get along really well with all of them."  Of all the reactions Keith expected, laughter was not one of them. Lance was laughing. Not an amused chuckle but full-on laughter to the point where tears had formed in the corners of his eyes. 

"What's so funny?" Keith asked.

"I'm...sorry." Lance said between laughs. "I don't mean to laugh it's just...Keith, the people who are close and important to you are supposed to tease and embarrass you in front of the new people who come into your life. Especially when they think that person is someone you're in a relationship with."

"But we're not." Keith said. Part of him hated that those words were true. He wanted Lance to be his, but he knew that was a highly unlikely outcome. Sure, he had almost kissed Lance last night and sure Lance had almost let him. But Keith's mind rationalized that they had just got caught up in the cliché situation of accidentally falling on top of, or in Lance's case underneath, somebody you were attracted too. It was nothing more than the romantic comedy, shojo manga atmosphere. Although if that were true Keith didn't understand why his eyes were still so drawn to Lance's lips. It also didn't explain the brief look of hurt on Lance's face when Keith had so quickly stated the truth about them not being together. The look vanished as quickly as it had appeared before Lance took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms. 

"True. But I bet I still get the shovel talk when we get up there." Lance said teasingly. "I bet it's something like. 'If you hurt our precious Keith you'll rue the day you were born." 

"There is no doubt in my mind that Pidge will give you the shovel talk. But knowing her as well as I do I can guarantee it will be a hell of a lot more threatening."

"Should I be worried about my safety?" Lance asked teasingly. 

"Probably." Keith said as he finally got off his bike. "And if we don't go up there soon my safety will also be questionable. I wouldn't put it past Pidge to come down here and drag us upstairs." 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Lance said as he grabbed Keith's hand and started to walk towards the door.  It should have been a simple action. A simple 'I'm excited about game night and to meet your friends; come on let's go' type of action. And yet it was not that simple at all. It had been so automatic that Lance hadn't realized what he had done until he felt their fingers lace together. He could feel the smooth leather material of Keith's gloves on his palm and in between his fingers. It sent a shiver through him that he couldn't quite explain. Lance had briefly fantasized about Keith's gloves before, but he knew in his heart that this particular shiver wasn't one of arousal. It was deeper than that. It was an emotional shiver caused simply by holding Keith's hand. This feeling was enough to start to pry the door to the rest of his feelings wide open again. 

As soon as they got to the door, Keith pressed the buzzer to let the others know they had arrived. When the main door unlocked Lance reluctantly let go of Keith's hand. The movement caused  Keith to look down at their now separated hands in confusion. It wasn't until this point that Keith had even realized they had been holding hands in the first place. Perhaps it was because his glove had obstructed a good deal of the skin to skin contact. Although the more Keith thought about it, the less likely that seemed. The two of them were walking side by side down the hall and towards the elevator. As they walked down the hall and even once they got to the elevator, Keith kept sneaking glances down at Lance's hands. Lance's left hand was in his jacket pocket but the hand closest to Keith wasn't. It was just inches away from Keith's own hand. It would have been so easy for Keith to lace their fingers together again and really be able to appreciate the contact this time. The only thing stopping Keith was the cold hard truth that they were not dating nor together in any romantic way. Sure, there was nothing wrong with a little platonic hand-holding. In fact, it was something that should have been more normalized than it was. But Keith knew for damn sure that there would have been absolutely nothing platonic about him holding Lance's hand. Keith didn't have much more time to think about it because they soon reached Pidge and Hunk's door. He had barely knocked when the door was thrown open and a slightly irritated Pidge stood there with her arms crossed. Lance wasn't sure what he was expecting Pidge to look like, based of the things Keith had told him about her, but it definitely wasn't expecting her to be this short young lady with hazelnut brown hair.

"You're late." She said before stepping aside to let them in.

"This is the girl I'm supposed to be afraid of? She's like three feet tall." Lance whispered into Keith's ear as they walked through the door. He wasn't as discreet as he thought he was though because Pidge cleared her throat to get his attention and then gave him an unamused look. 

"Sorry about that." Lance said before moving closer to Pidge. He then took her hand and gave it a light kiss before saying a line that sounded much more flirtatious in his head than it did when spoken aloud. "I was just surprised that Oz would allow their most beautiful munchkin to leave." 

"Munchkin ha. More like flying monkey." Keith scoffed. He instantly realized his mistake when he watched Pidge adjust her glasses, allowing the light of the entryway to cause a glare across the lenses to obscure her eyes. It was a telltale sign she was up to something mischievous. 

"Hunk is in the kitchen getting snacks together." Pidge said. "Shiro's in the living room. Why don't we go join him." 

Keith cringed at the mention of Shiro as the three of them moved towards the living room. Shiro still didn't seem on board with the whole Lance situation and Keith was worried that it might become an issue. 

"Hey, Keith." Shiro said when the three of them entered the room. Shiro then turned his attention towards Lance and greeted him in a polite tone much to Keith's relief. "It's nice to see you again Lance."

"Again!" Pidge said in surprise. "What do you mean again? Am I seriously the last person to meet Keith's boyfriend?!"

"He's/I'm not my/his boyfriend." Keith and Lance said at the same time. They looked at each other after speaking but couldn't maintain eye contact. The sentence, despite its truth, caused too many mixed emotions in each boy that in almost hurt to acknowledge it. They quickly looked away from each other. An action that did not go unnoticed by Pidge. 

"Yet." She said with a smirk. Keith opened his mouth to tell her off but Pidge quickly cut him off. "Seriously though. How did Shiro meet Lance?"

"Um...well funny story actually." Lance said with an awkward laugh. By this point, everyone had taken a seat and were just waiting for Hunk to join them. 

"What's a funny story?" Hunk asked as he came into the room with two large serving trays full of snacks.

"How Shiro met Lance." Pidge said stealing a cookie off one of the trays before Hunk had even set them down.

"Shiro has already met Lance. I didn't know that. Why didn't you say anything when I called the other night? How did that happen?" Hunk asked as he and Pidge eagerly awaited an answer.

"Well...I might have sort of caused a little bit of trouble and Shiro and Keith were called to take care of it." Lance said.

"Keith you're dating a criminal!?" Hunk yelled causing Pidge to break out in laughter. 

"He's not a criminal. He's barely even a lawbreaker." Keith sighed. They had only been here for about ten minutes and he was already exhausted. 

"All we did was fine him. It was a pretty minor offense." Shiro said.

"What did you do?" Hunk asked Lance. 

"I'm a street performer. I didn't have a permit and was performing in front of Sal's diner. That guy has no sense of fun. He didn't like my act so he called the cops. Then Shiro and Keith showed up. Since I couldn't perform in town without the permit, Keith told me it was fine if I did my act in the park."

"But then...how did you and Keith end up having dinner together?" Hunk asked.

"Oh, well Keith ran into me later that day at the park. We talked a little and hit it off pretty well so he asked if I wanted to get something to eat with him." Lance said. The blue-eyed boy turned his attention toward Shiro when he heard him chuckle. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Keith glaring. Lance couldn't help but feel like he had missed something. 

"It wasn't as coincidental as you seem to think it was." Shiro said. 

"What do you mean?" Lance asked feeling even further out of the loop.

"Keith went to the park for a specific reason. I'm guessing he never told you why." 

"Shiro, drop it." Keith said in a warning tone. He really didn't need everyone to know what really happened. Things between him and Lance had reached as awkward stage and this information wasn't going to help. He also didn't need Pidge to have any more ammunition to tease him with.

"He said he just wanted to take a walk to clear his head after a long day at work." Lance said.

"Did he now?" Shiro said in an amused tone.

"Shiro. Shut up." Keith warned again. 

"So Keith clearly never told you the actual reason he was in the park that day." Shiro said. The knowing smile on his face had Lance feeling confused and a little worried. It was almost like Shiro was implying that Keith had some sort of hidden motive that Lance was unaware of. Meeting Keith had left Lance so emotionally vulnerable that it was making the blue-eyed boy question Keith's every action. Was there really something Lance wasn't seeing? Keith clearly didn't want him to know whatever Shiro was about to say. Lance hesitated for a moment before he acknowledged Shiro.

"Actual reason?" Lance said hoping it sounded more curious than worried.

"Keith was having a difficult time concentrating on work after we fined you."

"Shiro"

"He was quite worried about a certain street performer and left work early to go make sure that said street performer was doing alright." 

"Shut up Shiro!" Keith said as he slammed his hands on the coffee table. Keith had been so worried about Shiro pulling the overprotective big brother act that he didn't take time to consider that Shiro would go for the embarrassing older brother act instead. 

"Aww, I think that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard Keith do." Hunk said.

"Love at first sight will do that to a person." Pidge said with a smirk as she readjusted her glasses.

"Guys it's not like that. You are all morons. I don't know why I hang out with any of you." Keith said with a sigh. 

"It's ok mullet boy, my charm and good looks captivate most people. No one can blame you for needing to be by my side." Lance teased. Although the teasing was to cover up the sudden wave of hurt and insecurity. Most people would be flattered to hear that someone was worried about them, but not Lance. The only thoughts that crossed the blue-eyed boy's mind were ' _great...I really am just a charity case to him...he's just doing all of this because he feels bad for me._ '  Lance didn't want to spoil the evening for everyone so he put on one of his charming smiles and joined in teasing Keith. It must have been a believable act because the others all chuckled and Keith rolled his eyes.

"Are we going to play any of these stupid games or not?" Keith said scowling.

"Alright, no need to get all huffy emo boy." Pidge said before leaning over the edge of the chair she was sitting in to grab the game she wanted to play. "I demand a Pictionary rematch."

"Seriously?" Keith said sighing. Last week he and Shiro had completely crushed Pidge and Hunk during their game of Pictionary. Since Pidge was a notoriously sore loser she had been telling Hunk all week how she needed to get her revenge and secure a victory.  

"Oh, she's serious..." Hunk said. "She's been talking about it all week."

"This time you are going down." Pidge challenged.

"Oh but we don't have enough people for even teams." Hunk said. It was a true enough statement, but it had inadvertently made Lance feel self-conscious. If he hadn't come then they wouldn't be in this situation. What did he do? Did he offer to sit out to be polite? But if he did that then why did he come in the first place? Luckily Shiro spoke up to save Lance from his dilemma.

"I'll sit out." Shiro said.

"Are you sure?" Lance said immediately. "I don't mind sitting out. This is a thing you guys do all the time. I don't want to get in the way or break up the usual teams."

"It's alright Lance, you should play. Someone has to referee if Pidge and Keith are on opposing teams." Shiro said. It made Lance feel a little better but it wasn't enough to ease his self-consciousness."

"Besides we'll have enough for even teams later when my brother gets here." Pidge said. "Now that that is settled I say it's Hunk and me versus Keith and Lance. Team Hidge versus Team Klance. This relationship versus that relationship."

"How many times do I have to say that we aren't dating." Keith said. He had anticipated a level of constant teasing but it didn't make it any less annoying. 

Keith still hadn't figured out his feelings for Lance. He knew it was well past acquaintanceship. He could also say that he considered Lance to be a friend. But at the same time, he was friends with Shiro and Hunk and he never had the urge to kiss either of them. He never flirted with them or wanted closer physical contact with them. He also never tried as hard to be understanding of their feelings, at least not in the same way he had with Lance. When Keith rationalized it, he knew he wanted Lance to be his, in more than just what they currently had. The only thing stopping Keith was the fact that he and Lance had only met a few days ago. The more he thought about it the more he wondered if it was even possible to fall in love with someone in less time than it takes for the grass to grow or for a flower to bloom. Keith knew that if he hadn't already fallen for Lance, he sure as hell was falling in love with him; Keith was just too stubborn to admit it.

"I said 'relationship' which does have more than one definition. It's interesting to see which one of your mind went too." Pidge said with a smirk. 

"Alright, Pidge. I think that is enough teasing for now. Why don't we get the game going?" Shiro suggested. 

"Fine..." Pidge sighed. Lance couldn't help but chuckle at the small girl's childish action. Keith had told him that Pidge was a few years younger than them but was brilliant enough that she had advanced through school at an accelerated rate. Despite her brilliance, her age did still show itself from time to time. 

"Have you played Pictionary before Lance?" Hunk asked.

"Um, yeah but it was a long time ago."

"When we play one person from each team only draws and one person only guesses. The person drawing can only draw. No talking or verbal clues and no written clues. There is a one-minute time limit and the team with the most points at the end claims victory." Pidge explained. 

They decided that Pidge would draw for Hunk to guess and Keith would draw for Lance to guess. They set up one of the whiteboards from Pidge's office and each team had a different colored marker; red for Keith and green for Pidge. After flipping a coin it was decided that 'Team Hidge' would go first. Pidge got to work drawing and Hunk quickly guessed that what she was drawing was a space ship. The two of them high fived each other before Pidge sat down on Hunk's lap. Keith grabbed a card from the pile and after reading the word and the timer was set he started to draw.

"Ooh oh...chopsticks! no no um....space chopstick!" Lance shouted.

"What the hell are space chopsticks?!" Keith shouted back as he stopped drawing.

"No talking." Shiro reminded. Pidge and Hunk were laughing which wasn't helping Keith's frustrations. Time soon ran out and Keith sighed.

"It's a sword dumbass." Keith said before sitting next to Lance on the couch. 

"Oooooh. Yeah, I see it now." Lance said with a small laugh and scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Pidge got up to draw and yet again Hunk got it almost immediately. 

"Hell yeah! In your face!" Pidge shouted.

"Yeah yeah sit down gremlin." Keith said as he got up again to draw.

"Um...peperoni, an alligator, a cave...Oh! A windy cave. No no no um oh what is that thing called um a... it's a thermos!" 

"Time's up." Shiro said doing his best not to laugh.  Keith Let out a frustrated sigh before sitting down next to Lance again.

"It was a witch." Keith said. This caused Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk to break out into uncontrivable laughter. 

"Are you sure you and Shiro beat Hunk and Pidge last week? Because drawing like that I don't know how that's possible." Lance said as he crossed his arms and quirked his eyebrow.

"My drawing isn't the problem. It's your guessing." Keith said. "Shiro is a lot better at it than you are." 

"Sorry, buddy. Even I don't think I would have guessed witch." Shiro said. This, of course, caused Pidge and Hunk to laugh even harder. They played a few more rounds and Pidge and Hunk got a few more points, while Keith and Lance managed to get two points for their team. They were Still losing but at least it wasn't a total defeat. It was their turn again so Keith got up to draw. 

"Stickball...ooh baseball...sports....hockey puck and stick....melted popsicle...?" Lance guessed until time ran out again.

"Wormhole. It's a wormhole." Keith said in a frustrated tone as he stabbed the whiteboard with the marker as if that would help get his point across.

"Well, you should have drawn something else since I obviously wasn't getting it!" Lance said now feeling just as frustrated as Keith. 

"What else did you want me to draw to get you to guess wormhole?!" Keith shouted as he got closer to Lance. "You went from sports to melted popsicle! It was a god damn wormhole!"

"I'll stick you in a wormhole!" Lance shouted back. Their faces were now almost as close as they were the night before when they almost kissed. The heated argument seemed to spark something in both boys because neither backed away. They weren't sure why, but the annoyed and frustrated feelings seemed to make acting on their mixed feelings so much easier. Their lips probably would have connected but both boys had momentarily forgotten that they were in the company of others until Pidge cleared her throat.

"I hate to interrupt your very obvious sexual tension induced moment, but we are in the middle of a game." She said with a smirk. Keith and Lance jumped away from each other quicker than the snap of someone's fingers. Both of their faces were bright red as they tried and failed to hide it. 

"Um...w-whose turn is it?" Lance asked awkwardly.  Before anyone could answer they were interrupted by the sound of the door buzzer. Pidge got up to answer it as Keith and Lance took a seat back on the couch. They could hear two people talking and the sound of footsteps making their way back to the living room. 

"And I'll have to introduce you to..." Pidge started to say before she was cut off by her brother.

"Lance?" Matt said sounding surprised.

"Oh my God, Matt!?!" Lance said as he got a big smile on his face. The blue-eyed boy practically jumped off the couch and ran over to the other boy before jumping into his arms. Matt expected this and caught Lance easily as the blue-eyed boy wrapped his Legs around his waist. Matt spun him around a few times and then the two started rapidly talking to each other. 

"Seriously!? Am I seriously the last person to meet Lance?!" Pidge shouted. She was about to go off on Keith and ask why until she saw the look of shock on the other boy's face.

"Yeah...I guess you are..." Keith said without taking his eyes off Matt and Lance. It had never occurred to Keith that the 'Matt' Lance had mentioned he was getting a postcard for, would be Pidge's older brother. It also never occurred to Keith that he would have to witness Lance be so physically close to someone else. Lance was still in Matt's arms as the two chatted away like this was completely normal. It made Keith's blood boil to see the blue-eyed boy look so happy with someone else. Lance was so comfortable in Matt's arms but could barely hold Keith's hand or touch him in any way without an awkward tension forming between them. Keith clenched his fists and saw red when he watched Lance kiss Matt's forehead before the other boy put him down. 

It would seem a new emotion was now added to Keith's already growing list of things he felt around Lance.

Jealousy truly was a bitch...and Keith was not sure how he was going to handle this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to worry Klancer's!!  
> The slight Lance x Matt (Latte) ship is only to make Keith jealous!!  
> Since Keith tends to let his emotions dictate his impulsive nature I thought the jealously might help speed up the developing Klance romance!!  
> Klance is still end game!!  
> <3 <3 <3  
> Update as soon as I can (no promises as to when)

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and Kudos are appreciated!!  
> I'll try to updateas often as I can ♡♡


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